The Avengers and Element
by SuperficialTalk
Summary: The Avengers get a new secret weapon: a girl with amazing powers. She has to face evil, both internal and external.
1. Introductions

Friday was pretty much just as boring as every day had been for Ava Grace. She woke up, fed her cats, chilled out in front of the TV while on Tumblr simultaneously. Oh, the gardeners came. That was sorta cool. She sat cross-legged in the middle of her garden and talked to them while they worked. They chuckled at her jokes and weeded her garden. She always enjoys it when they come over. Besides them, her only visitor is Dr. Bruce Benner, and he's no fun.

At about 2 Bruce decided to show up. Ava had just showered and was getting dressed when he knocked on the door and let himself in. She laughed under her breath and said 'No courtesy, as usual.'

"Ava?" He called out "Where are you?"

"In the bathroom!" She said, hooking her bra behind her back.

"Are you, um, well, are you using it?" You could practically hear the blush in his voice.

She sighed audibly. "No, I'm getting dressed, I just showered." She pulled on a pair of comfortable gray yoga pants and tied the string.

"Oh, alright then. Please come out when you're presentable. I have a special treat for you today."

"Yeah, yeah." She mumbled, remembering every time he had said that to her, even though he didn't have anything special, just another MRI or CAT scan or results that told her nothing about her origins or why she was the way she was. She sighed again, quietly this time, and pulled on a dark blue tank top. She ran a hand through her unruly and short black hair, not even bothering to dry or style it. She walked out of the bathroom, padding across the hall and picking up her favorite cat, whom she had gotten when she first got the hospital. His name was Hudson, after the river in New York she could see from her house where she used to live. Then she walked out into the living room while Hudson rubbed against her neck.

The first person she saw was Bruce. Then Iron Man, full suit. The Captain America, also suited up. Thor was looking around, seemingly amused by the decorations. Then Hawkeye, with his bow and arrows. And, last but not least, Black Widow. All Russian-spy-ed out. Ava almost dropped Hudson in surprise.

~~Earlier that day~~

"Banner, why did you bring me here?" Tony said, obviously annoyed.

"Because," Bruce said, a slight gleam in his eye "I want to discuss the possibility of a secret weapon."

"Not so secret anymore." Was Tony's only comment.

"Well, there's this girl. She's very nice. But she has the oddest ability. She can control any of the four elements. She can burst into flame, shoot a column of water at you like a firehose, make tree roots grow up from the ground and entangle your feet, create a windstorm with a flick of the wrist. It's positively amazing. The oddest part is, she's human. There is nothing about her that's alien in any way. There's just something a little odd with her DNA. None of us scientists at S.H.I.E.L.D. can figure it out. Anyway, she can do all these things, but she gets very tired very fast. She's an impractical fighter. And the other, I was thinking, what if someone managed to defeat all of us? There would be no one to protect Earth. We need something, anything, to be there as a fail-safe in case we just can't do it."

Tony looked thoughtful. "So, basically, there's a girl who can control the elements and we're going to use her to get the bad guys if we can't do it ourselves."

Bruce furrowed his brow. "I suppose that's an easier way to say it. But when you say it, it sounds like I'm not confident in our abilities. Which is untrue. I'm just overly confident in our enemies' abilities. I'm only telling you this so that you can round up the troops, per say."

"Oh, alright." Tony said, taking out his phone. He started typing.

"Um, you should probably get going. Everyone's pretty scattered. Thor is off in Norway, and Steve is in San Francisco. I honestly don't know where Clint and Natasha are."

"I just texted everyone. Not sure if Thor is going to be able to text back. He'll probably just use his oversized hammer and smash the phone." Tony's phone beeped. "Text from the Captain. 'Be there in twenty.' And Natasha texted 'Hawk and I are on our way.' Ohh, looks like they were together. Suprised they could make it. And Thor said 'Be rear doom' What the hell? Wait, second message. 'Be there soon, stupid autocorrect'." Tony re-read the first message and started laughing hysterically. "'Be rear doom!' Jeez, that is hilarious! Anyway, they're all heading over."

Bruce smiled. "I can't believe I didn't think of that." 


	2. Ava Shows Off

After everyone arrived, Bruce stood in front of them all. "Hi everyone, nice to see you all again. So, as Tony already told you all, I want you to meet a very special girl. She's very talented. She will become a part of our team, but won't be able to...fully participate. She's completely untrained to fight. We've tried, but her abilities are barely under control. But she's very strong. You have to be extremely gentle with her. Her abilities generally are activated very similarly to mine. If she gets upset, she'll explode. And I don't mean that figuratively. So, let's set out, shall we?" He smiled widely and turned on his heel, walking the halls of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building. The team followed him around a corner and through a pair of doors, marked 'Hospital Wing'.

"Now, she's technically in a wing off of the hospital wing, but we still consider her to live in the hospital wing." Bruce said over his shoulder, not missing a step. "She actually lives within very tall walls which she can't get over. She has a little house and gardens and everything, since she's a long-term patient."

"So, she's been here a while?" Steve asked. Bruce nodded, opening another set of doors. "And she's not allowed to leave?" Again, Bruce nodded. "So, basically, she's a prisoner?"

This time, Bruce stopped walking. He turned around to face them with painful look in his eyes. "She's not officially a prisoner," He said with a sigh, "but basically, yes." The sadness in his voice made your heart ache. Then he turned again and continued walking.

"Um, hello. This is...wow. Uh, big fan, of all of you. This is awesome. Oh my God, I have the Avengers in my living room and I'm wearing yoga pants and holding a cat. Oh god, Dr. Hulk, what do I do?" She looked at Bruce desperately.

He smiled slightly, holding his hands out for Hudson. She handed her cat over, and Hudson curled up just as happily against his chest as hers. Then he stepped back and motioned towards the rest of the team. "Ava, these are the Avengers. I wanted you to meet them. Everyone, this is Ava Grace Blanchette. She's the girl I've been telling you about."

Iron Man looked at her, then took off his helmet. He gave her a slightly disdainful look. "I thought she would be older."

She just stared at him in disbelief. "Older? What do you mean, older? I'm 17! What? Would you like me to be all...all middle aged?"

Everyone stared at her. Finally, Captain America started laughing. "Tony, you just got put down a notch by a little girl!" Black Widow and Hawkeye laughed, but Bruce just smiled.

Thor looked utterly confused. "May I ask what just happened?

"Well, unlike you," She said, turning to him, "People on Earth can't age centuries without changing their appearance. I know in Azkaban-"

"Asgard!" He said, sounding offended.

"Asgard, whatever. There you can live for forever and not look a day older. Here, it doesn't work like that. Your age generally is related to how much respect you get from others."

He looked down for a minute, obviously in thought. When he looked up, he stared right into Ava's eyes. "I believe it is what you do and who you are, and not your age, that tells how much you should be respected." Everyone turned to stare at him now, but he said nothing else.

After a slightly awkward silence, Ava said "So, Dr. Hulk-"

"Ava, please do not call me that."

She sighed. "Fine. Dr. Banner, why are they here? This isn't just some meet-and-greet thing. You have some other purpose. Please just tell me so I can do whatever it is you want and then go cry myself to sleep because I'm useless as anything other than an experiment." She tried to sound as hurt as possible., thinking that perhaps she could manage to get out of it.

"You know you're not useless. But I would like you to come to the testing area and show them what you can do. We've been discussing many things recently at S.H.I.E.L.D., and you've been one of them."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, let's go."

Bruce placed the cat on the floor. "Ava, we'll just be going to the testing facility. I believe you know where that is." Ava nodded and led the way, not waiting for Bruce to catch up. Everyone followed her.

"So," Ava said, continuing to walk. "You're all these cool-ass super heroes. Why are you concerning yourselves with me? I mean, I know I'm awesome. That doesn't need to be said. But do I get to be one of you?" Her voice was hopeful.

"Uh, well, like you said, you are very awesome." Steve said after a moment of thought. Oh god, she thought, he's talking to me! Captain America is TALKING, to ME! She was so into her thoughts, she ran into the door.

"You okay there, ma'am?" Steve said, touching her shoulder. As she held back hysterical laughter, Ava nodded.

"I'm perfectly fine. Just sorta got distracted..." Ava said weakly.

"From walking?" Tony said, raising an eyebrow. Her only response was a glare. Bruce quickly walked up and opened the door with his key card and ushered everyone though. There was a sign above the doorway. In bold black letters it pronounced 'Testing Facility'. Ava went automatically to the left and Bruce took everyone else to the right.

When Ava stood in the middle of the floor pof the testing room and the team was in the observation room comfortable(only after a few minutes of muffled swears and jostling), Bruce pushed down the button on the microphone. As he spoke, his words were projected through the testing room. "Ava, let's run a general drill. Okay?"

She smiled. "Of course, Dr. Banner." Her voice, in turn, was projected through a set of speakers in the observatioon room. She changed her stance slightly. Instead of her hand hanging loosley at her sides, they were slightly bent. Her feet were should width apart, bracing for any attack the simulator could throw at her.

Bruce pushed down the microphone button. "Go." Was all he said. He pressed a button on a panel, and fake targets popped up. There were a few with guns, and a few little old ladies. Ava smirked and flicked her wrist. Roots shot out of the tile, shattering it, and wrapped around the feet of the targets with guns and bound them like thick, living ropes, crushing them and pulling them to the ground. The little old lady targets didn't even get touched.

Bruce pressed another button. Now, a raging fire combusted behind Ava. She spun on the spot and threw her arm out and a burst of water issued from her hand and smothered the fire, putting it out with steam going everywhere. Ava waved her hand in front of her, trying to clear her vision, but she had no time to recover before the next challenged showed up.

Bruce flipped a switch. Ropes flew up and quickly coiled around Ava like snakes, making her unable to move. She was being squeezed so tightly her face was turning red. After a few excruciating moments, she burst into flames. The flames consumed the ropes and just as suddenly as they appeared, they fell to the ground as ashes. Ava shook her arms and the fire receded. The only noticable difference was that her hair was now completely dry.

Bruce again pushed a button. Then, more targets popped up. This time, a lot more menacing. They had spikes and real swords. They started advancing towards Ava. She didn't even flinch. She started throwing her arms out toward each target, and each of them flew back. Just glancing at it, you couldn't really tell what she was doing. if you looked closer, though, you could see her hair being blown violently around her hair, like in a bad storm. The ashes at her feet swirled around in the air around her.

Clint broke the silence. "Uh, what exactly is she doing now?" He said tentatively as he watched Ava through the glass. She had stopped moving and was standing there, still in her stance, waiting for more challenges.

Bruce smiled. "She used her power over the wind to blow the targets back."

"Well, hot damn." Tony said, looking impressed. "I would not have expected any of that to happen. I honestly thought she wasn't going to get passed the cardboard targets."

Ava turned and glared at the glass. "I can hear you, you know."

Bruce chuckled. "Sorry, Tony. I just pressed down the button when you started talking." He turned to the glass. "Good job, Ava. That was extremely impressive."

Ava just smiled. "I know." 


	3. A True Avenger & an Opportunity

Everyone rushed down to the testing room to see Ava. She was standing there, her hair ruffled, wearing a knowing smile. Bruce walked right up and hugged her, smoothing down her hair. "I knew you could do it!" He said with a warm smile. Ava blushed slightly, looking away.

Natasha was smirking. "At least I won't be the only girl on the team anymore." She patted Ava on the shoulder. "You're wonderful." Ava smiled back and said nothing, but all she could think was 'Oh my God, I'm going to be an Avenger! I'm ACTUALLY going to be one of them!'

Tony was trying not to smile. "Well, you already know my opinion." Ava started laughing, a big smile spreading across her face. To her, Tony Stark was the one she felt the need to impress. He was rich, a genius, and one of the most famous Avengers.

Clint did nothing more than just nod at her. Ava was a little perplexed, but he had always been more of a background figure than outspoken, like Tony. She appreciated that about him. He was always observing, always learning, but he was always in on the action. The Thor stepped forward, and put one arm across his chest and knelt in front of her. "Ava, you hold more power than I thought. You have my respect and my loyalty."

Now Steve was the only one to have not spoken yet. Ava was more than a little excited for him to say his piece. He was her favorite Avenger, beating out Tony by a slim margin. Steve thought before he said anything. "I think it was wonderful. I mean, the sheer power of it was just...wow. There really isn't much else to say. But please, let me be first to shake your hand and welcome you to our little group." Steve held out his hand to her. Beating down the butterflies in her stomach, she took it. He had a firm grip and he looked her in the eyes, a slightly crooked smile on his face. After he let go, her hand fell limply down to her side.

Bruce laughed nervously, sensing their intensity. "Captain, be careful with her! She's not as strong as you or I." Ava laughed lightly, jokingly holding her hand to her chest.

After all the awkwardness cleared, Bruce cleared his throat. "So, I believe we should go and see Agent Fury. He would probably like to know that we have a new addition. Well, technically without his approval, we don't." He looked apologetically at Ava, but she just rolled her eyes.

"Dr. Banner, I don't care what he says. Everyone here likes me, right? And I could probably beat them all in a fight." Tony started to say something, but Ava cut him off. "I said PROBABLY! Anyway, I'm amazing at what I do and all of you like me and appreciate my abilities, so even if he says no, I'll still be an Avenger at heart, right?" She had doe-eyes which basically said 'You won't let him tell me no, right...?'

"Of course, Ava." Bruce said, used to her puppy dog look. He turned and they all followed him out.

They all walked into the nerve center of S.H.I.E.L.D. operations. Agent Nick Fury was right in the middle of it all, giving commands. Bruce walked up to him and engaged in a short conversation with him before calling Ava over. Ava walked to them, only slightly nervous. "Hello." She said cheerily, smiling. "I believe we met once, a very long time ago."

Agent Fury nodded, his face a mask of no emotions whatsoever. "So you want to be an Avenger." He said, looking her over.

She smiled and said "Yes, sir." in a subdued voice.

Again, Agent Fury portrayed no emotions. "I have to admit, I had my doubts about adding you to the team. But Dr. Banner seems confident in your abilities and everyone is impressed, even Stark. To me, that's the hardest thing to do." Then a smile tugged at his lips. "I suppose you can be added to the team." Ava broke out in a huge smile, laughing giddily. "But," Fury said, quieting her down. "you'll only be working part-time. We have to make sure you can handle it." Ava nodded eagerly and hugged Fury. At first he was stiff and awkward, but then he gently hugged her back.

Ava pulled away from Fury and turned around. She was still grinning and looked so happy. Everyone else couldn't help but smile. Suddenly, Tony turned away and pointed at one of the men on the computer. "Stop playing Galaga! You always think we won't notice, but we do!" The man he was pointing at quickly shut down his Galaga game and pretended to be doing actual work. Everyone laughed, Ava a little too hard.

"Well," Bruce said, still smiling, "I'm sure Ava is exhausted. She did more work today all at once than she usually does in a week." Ava nodded wearily, thinking 'Damn right I deserve some praise!'

"Uh, I'll walk her back to her house." Steve said suddenly, smiling. "I actually have a few questions for her." Bruce took a second, but nodded his consent. The Steve held out his arm to Ava, and she took it.

They began walking, in a companionable silence. Then, Ava started giggling quietly. It turned into a louder laugh, and she looked at Steve. "Do you even know where you're going?" She asked, a smile dancing on her lips.

Steve gave a lopsided smile. "No idea." Then they laughed together, with Ava's arm wrapped around Steve's, with her leading him. When they finally calmed down, they were just in front of the doors to her house. They both stopped and Ava turned to him.

"So, you said you had questions?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, a few. First, did you have anything...done to you to make you this way?"

"No, I can't remember anything of the sort. I started to be able to do things like I do when I was about 9."

"And what about any sort of reason? Was your mom exposed to radiation or something while she was pregnant?"

"Honestly, no. My mom had a completely healthy pregnancy. And all of the tests they've done to me have shown absolutely no results. They're doing this whole gigantic break-down of my DNA to see if that's it. But otherwise, nothing."

"And your parents?" He said this gently and took her hand, seeing the pain in her eyes.

"I...they..." She couldn't look him in the eye. 'Why am I even telling him this?' she thought, 'I NEVER tell anyone about my parents!' "They're dead. They died when I was 12. That's when S.H.I.E.L.D. took me in after seeing I had potential."

Steve nodding, taking everything in. "I have just one more question, though." He said softly, still gently holding her hand. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to...go out sometime. To dinner or something." He flashed his crooked girn at her. "Then you can get of there and see something outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. for once."

Ava couldn't help but smile broadly. "Sure, that sounds like fun." She squeezed his fingers, and he squeezed back. "So...call me sometime, I guess." She turned and walked through the door, practically floating to her front door. 


	4. Loki, Training, and Fainting, oh my!

Loki stood at the window of the skyscraper, looking over the New York City skyline. "One day this shall be mine..." He said to himself, turning around to face the generals oh his inhuman army. They stood at attention.

"My commanders," He leered "the commanders of my army. Soon, we shall take this city, once and for all! Then, the world."

"When, master?" One of them asked.

Loki turned to the window, gazing out, his unearthly armor glinting in the sun. "As soon as we the destroy the unnatural one."

~~Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ~~

Ava was almost vibrating with excitement. She was going to the testing facility again, but this time to train with the Avengers, as one of them. She kept babbling on to Bruce, who just smiled.

By the time she and Bruce arrived at the testing room, everyone else was already there and suited up. Ava felt a little out of place, in jean shorts and a t-shirt. She smiled shyly at Captain and he smiled back. Bruce raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Bruce addressed everyone. "Okay, so, you'll all be training together today. It's important to see how she fits in with your different fighting styles if we're all going to be a team. She needs to learn your strengths and weaknesses, and you need to learn hers."

Ava raised her hand quietly. Bruce nodded at her, holding back a smile. "So, how exactly am I supposed to work with them? I haven't even seen them fight before, let alone even know where to stand. And they all work together really well, I don't want to mess it up.

"Just wait." Bruce said, smiling reassuringly. "You'll see where you can fit in once you get started. You just need to jump in and find out where you're comfortable." He smilde again, then turned to walk away.

"Woah, where do you think you're going?" Iron Man asked, crossing his arms.

Bruce turned back around. "I'm going back to the observation room." He said, smiling calmly.

"You're part of our team, though." Captain America said, stepping forward. "You should be training with us too."

"I really don't think it would be appropriate for the...other guy to try and train with you, especially not Ava. Something could go wrong. Besides, you need someone to control the targets and push the buttons."

Ava looked disappointed, never having seen the Hulk in person, but she stayed quiet. She knew that Bruce knew his limitations, and she never tried to stretch them. Everyone else nodded and got into a loose formation of a circle. It was more of a dotted, misshapen circle. That was quite a bit more oval than a circle.

Ava looked at them, a hint of confusion and fear on her face. "Where should I stand...?" She asked tentatively.

Everyone looked at each other, communicating silently with their eyes. Finally, Captain America raised his hand and waved slightly. "You can come stand by me, Ava. If you get overwhelmed I can always help you." Ava smiled greatly and walked over beside him.

Bruce's voice came over the intercom. "You guys ready?" He said, his hand hovering over a button. Everyone nodded and Ava did a thumbs-up. Bruce pushed the buttong and targets popped up and advanced from all directions. Quickly, everyone started to go on the attack. For a few seconds, Ava stood frozen. She simply didn't know what to do. Then, she noticed targets up above them, which everyone else seemed to be ignoring, preoccupied with the 'ground troops'. She took a deep breath and flung her right arm upward, sending a violent gust of wind upward at the targets. They flew to the ceiling and were knocked off of whatever was suspending them and fell the ground. Ava felt accomplished, but no one so much as glanced up.

Then Ava turned to see Captain America punching holes in the cardboard targets. Thor was throwing his hammer and blowing them to pieces. Black Widow was using her judo skills to kick apart the targets, all the while still using her 'Widow's Bite'. Iron Man was blasting targets. Hawkeye had his bow out and was shooting his arrows with amazing speed. Ava barely had the chance to smile before a new challenge presented itself.

All around them, the walls burst into flames. Ava wasn't worried about herself, she was unaffected by flames. It was everyone else she was worried about. She threw out her arms, water shooting from her palms. But, as soon as the water evaporated into steam, the flames came right back up again. Everyone glanced at her. She looked completely bewildered. Her brain was in overdrive, trying to think of what she could do. She had to put all of the fire out at once, otherwise she would be wasting her energy. Then an idea popped into her head.

"Guys!" She yelled, getting their attention. "I'm going to do something pretty amazing, but you're all going to get wet. Iron Man, are you water proof?"

"Close enough." He said, "Do what you have to."

"I'm going to have to sit down and concentrate. I've never done this before." Ava said, sitting down in the middle of the room and closing her eyes. Everyone else went back to destroying the targets.

Ava was facing a huge challenge: she had to use two of her powers at once. First, she concentrated on producing a huge ammount of water. She completely surrounded herself with it. Then she conjured up a swirling wind. She threw her arms out, pushing the water in a dome shape until it hit the walls and put out the fire.

Everyone turned in awe, dripping wet, to look at her, but she was unconscious on the floor. Captain America rushed over, pulling the face part of his suit away so he could see her better. He checked her pulse and breathing. Seconds later Bruce burst in the door and rushed over to Ava, falling to his knees at her side. "Is she alrght?" Captain America asked impatiently.

"She's fine. If she overextends herself, then, well, this happens. She passes out. She'll be fine after she gets some rest and recovers some energy." Bruce talked quietly, brushing back Ava's hair and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Tony started laughing. Everyone turned quickly to him and glared. He stopped immediately, seeing the look in their eyes. "Sorry." He said, clearing his throat. "it's just a little funny though, don't you think? She had enough sense to keep herself from getting wet. We're all standing around, save for you, Bruce, soaking wet, and she's completely dry."

Everyone gave an appreciative smile. "Uh, Captain, can you carry her to the hospital wing with me? I just want to monitor her and make sure she's getting along okay."

Captain America nodded, gingerly picking her up and following Bruce. When the door to the testing facility shut behind them, Bruced turned to Captain America.

"Captain," He said, a serious tone to his voice "I know you're interested in a romantic relationship with Ava. I have to beg you to be careful. She can be very dangerous when she's emotional. You know I'm only looking out for her. She's like a daughter to me. So, if you decide to continue with your relationship, just please be careful." Bruce stared intently at Captain America.

Captain kept Bruce's gaze and nodded solemnly. They turned, without a word, and continued down the hall, Ava still passed out in Captain America's arms. 


	5. Dinner & a Show

While she was unconscious, Ava had slept fitfully, drifting from one odd dream to the next. On several occasions, she heard an odd voice. It belonged to a woman, and was quite and spoke in an ancient language Ava didn't understand. It whispered to her. It gave her chills.

Two days later, Ava was fully recovered. She really had woken up the next day, but she was sore and stiff and suffered from headaches, all of which wore out the next day. She got an extra day of rest because Bruce didn't want to push her. When Ava finally got to leave the hospital ward, Steve was waiting for her. He smiled and pulled something out from behind his back. It was a clothes box. Ava raised an eyebrow, but walked over anyway. She reached out for the box, but Steve pulled it out of her reach.

"Hold on, we have to have you open it in front of everyone else!" Steve said, smirking.

"Then why did you bother bringing it here right now?" Ava said, glaring. She tried to grab the box again, but Steve held it above her head. "Don't you make me go all mother nature right now!' She said, jumping and trying to reach the box. Steve said nothing and walked away. Ava followed, continually trying to reach the box, until Steve walked up to the door of her house.

"Why couldn't you just say I had to wait until I got home?" She said, angrily crossing her arms. "I would've run here!" Steve just smiled, opening the door and motioning for her to go inside.

Ava walked in and the whole team was there. Bruce was sitting in a chair, in a seemingly intense conversation with Thor. Natasha and Clint were sitting together on the couch watching TV. Tony was on his phone texting. They all looked up and smiled. bruce stood up. "Ava, how are you feeling?"

"Obviously well, since you finally let me out of the hospital. Honestly, I could've left yesterday and been just fine."

"I had to make sure that you were safe. I know you would've wanted to get right back to training, and that would've been a terrible idea." Bruce said gently.

"Whatever." Ava said, causing Bruce to look at her sternly. "So," She continued "do I get to see what's in the box or do I have to wait?" She reached for the box, but Steve drew it back yet again.

"Oh for the love or God, just give her the damn box!" Tony said, obviously annoyed.

Steve was stunned just long enough that Ava managed to grab the box. She opened it and pulled out a mass of black fabric. She held it up, looking it over. "So...you gave me black footie-pajamas?"

Bruce chuckled. "No, Ava. It's your suit. And yes, it's black. But not all the time."

"Oh, for the love of...what exactly do you mean?" Ava asked, still awkwardly holding the suit. Tony stood up and walked over, grabbing the suit.

"Stark Industries created the technology that made this suit possible. It will change design in the presence of different things. If you'll follow me, I'll show you." Tony walked out of the living room and around the corner to the kitchen. Ava followed, but everyone else stayed where they were. Obviously they had already seen it. "So," Tony said, walking over to the gas stove. He took of the cover and turn the flame up all the way. He set the suit on top of it. Ava gaped at him. "Don't worry, it's flame proof." They stood there for a few minutes, Ava waiting for Tony to say something. Then the suit began to change color. It lightened from the midnight black to an orange-red. Tony picked up a pair of tongs, grabbed the suit, and held it up, turning off the flame. Now Ava could see the whole thing. The whole suit was a general color of red-orange, except at the forearms and feet. There, orange flames swirled upward on the fabric, crowned by red. "When the fabric gets hot enough, like, say, when you're on fire, it changes to this design."

Tony took the suit and dropped it into the sink. He turned on the water and put the plug in the drain, waiting for it to fill up. When it did, he lifted up the suit. Now, it was a light blue with cerulean dark blue swirls coming from the left middle and going across the stomach and left thigh. "It turns to this design when water is detected against the fabric."

Next, Tony went outside with Ava close behind. He walked over to one of her flower beds and dropped the suit in the dirt. he dug up some soil and rubbed it on the suit. The suit changed to a deep, forest green with tendrils of brown, obviously representing roots, wrapping around the left shoulder and chest area, with some curling up the right calf and thigh. "And this is obviously the earth design. This one was quite a bit trickier. We couldn't just have it change when there's dirt in contact with it, since you don't always have dirt when you use this. You could just cause a tree to spontaneously grow. So, instead, we had it change when it detected extra oxygen and less carbon dioxide in the air. Unfortunately, if you're in a forest, it'll change to this then, too. So just don't go fighting in any woods."

Tony got up and shook the dirt off the suit, and it turned back to its natural black state. Tony walked slighty away from Ava and turned to face her, holding the suit out with one hand. "Would you mind hitting it with some wind? I couldn't find a fan fast enough to make it change."

Ava shrugged and flicked her wrist, blasting wind at Tony and the suit. It quickly changed to a bright white, with gray swirls from the right side across the stomach and chest and from the inner left thigh. As soon as Ava stopped, the design faded back to the regular black.

"And that's what happens when it's very windy. So, your suit is really cool. And it took me the whole of two days to design it. Pretty cool, huh?"

Ava rolled her eyes at him and took the suit from him, walking back inside. He was right on her heels. She went to the living room, looking around at everyone. "I'm just going to go and put it on. I don't even think it'll fit me." She looked over at Tony and shook her head. "If it doesn't fit, I'm lighting your hair on fire." Then she walked off, leaving everyone giggling.

After a few minutes of quiet swearing and wiggling into a skin-tight suit, Ava walked out, absolutely nothing hidden. Steve walked over and held out a length of black fabric, about a foot and a half long and an inch and half wide, with two holes cut in the middle of it. It was a mask, to hide her identity. Ava took it in her hands and starting laughing. "Steve, I don't need to hide my face! I live in a place with better security than the White House!" She handed it back, still laughing. "So, are we going to do some training today so I can test this out?"

"Actually, no." Bruce said. "Today, everyone has the day off. You can do what you want, but you'll probably be training alone if that's what you choose to do. Tony's going to spend the day at home, I'm going to be working, I think Clint and Natasha are going to do some recon for S.H.I.E.L.D. and you and Steve, as far as I've heard, have some plans set for tonight."

Ava looked bewildered. "We do?" Her brow was furrowed as she was thinking. "Oh, we do!" She said, smiling.

"In that case, I think we should all leave so you can get ready." Bruce said, and everyone got up, saying their goodbyes to Ava and leaving. Steve gave her a quick hug and left. Bruce smiled and nodded, walking out the door and closing it behind me. Ava ran to her room and began frantically searching through her clothes.

~~Later~~

When Ava was halfway through getting ready, Steve showed up at her house. He was wearing a dark blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, tucked into black slacks with black shoes. He knocked and stood there for a few minutes. When Ava finally came to the door, she had on pajama pants with polar bears on them, a long-sleeved white cotton tunic with a black top underneath, and only one of her eyes had eyeliner. She smiled awkwardly and let him in. "Sorry, I take a little while to get ready..." She said, blushing slightly as he went and sat down on the couch.

He smiled. "It's perfectly fine, honestly. I don't mind waiting." Then he pointed to her pants. "Are you planing on wearing that out?"

She giggled. "Obviously not." Ava went back into the bathroom and finished getting ready. When she stepped out, she was wearing the same top, but with blue skinny jeans and a pair of classic Converse. Her makeup was finished, and complimented her pale palette and dark hair.

"Wow." Steve said, smiling. Ava smiled back and took the arm that he offered.

~~At the Restaurant~~

When Ava and Steve arrived at the restaurant, they were led to a table outside. Steve pulled the chair out for Ava and she sat down. Ava couldn't help but notice an odd couple a few tables over. The man, dressed in a suit, had long black hair and a pale face. The woman had a shock of white-blonde hair and was wearing an evening gown. They were watching her. Steve didn't take notice, so Ava tried to ignore them.

"So," Ava said, covertly glancing at the couple. "What did you guys do while I was asleep and forced to stay in bed?"

"Just, you know, normal things. We had a big party, went to Atlantic City, I believe Tony made about a billion dollars at slots. You know, normal things." Steve smiled.

Ava rolled her eyes at him. "Mhmm, sure, because you would party. doesn't really matter anyway, I was just a little curious. I just listened to the gossip the nurses were going on about."

"Anything I need to know about?" He said, leaning forward. "You know..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "are any nurses undercover agents for some evil-doing foe we've yet to learn about?"

Ava leaned in towards him and whispered back. "Well, there was this one. She seemed pretty suspicious...complaining about...Lemon Pledge." She stiffled a smile, knowing that he wouldn't understand. He just nodded thoughtfully.

"I see, this could be a major problem." he leaned in closer. Ava moved closer, her eyes starting to flutter shut.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the table with the dark haired man and the blonde. Steve and Ava pulled back, looking over to see what had happened. The dark haired man was standing up, glaring directly at them. the table was flipped over at his feet, and his blonde companion was standing up, brushing bits of broken plate and food off of her dress. The man looked angry.

Ava looked over at Steve, who was rigid and had his fists clenched. "Do you really want to do this right now, Loki?" Everyone flinched at the name, and even Ava was taken aback, remembering all the destruction after he was first on Earth.

"I have nothing with you, Captain. I want her." Loki said, looking at Ava, an evil glint in his eye.

"You won't lay a finger on her as long as I'm around." Steve said, moving in front of Ava. Although she appreciated it, va didn't particularly like having someone else fight her battles for her.

She stood up and walked forward, looking at Loki. "What do you want with me?" She said, her voice steady and resolute, her eyes staying connected to his.  
Loki smiled darkly. "I want to kill you, before you get the chance to destroy me." He grinned slyly.

Steve almost exploded behind Ava. "You will NEVER get close enough to her to ever get the chance to hurt her!" He charged toward Loki, pushing Ava back as he passed her. Ava turned and ran, sprinting to the bathroom. no one noticed the blonde following her, as there was a massive fight breaking out between Steve and Loki.

Steve picked Loki up and threw him against the wall of the restaurant, bricks falling out of place and thudding to the ground around the demigod. Loki just got up and smiled. Steve rushed forward again, but Loki's image flickered and disappeared as Steve got within arms' reach. Loki appeared behind him, unphased. Steve crashed into the wall with a sickening smack. he reeled backwards and stumbled around for a few seconds, getting his bearings. When he was steady, it appeared as if nothing had happened to him, save for two bleeding cuts on his forehead and the brick dust in his hair. Steve rushed forward yet again.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Ava had locked herself in a stall and was starting to hyperventilate. She pulled off her tunic and black top, revealing her black skin-tight suit underneath. Though it was for a superhero, she felt far from super and would never be a hero. I'm cowering in a bathroom stall while Steve is out there, fighting Loki all by himself, Ava though. She was so overwhelmed a single tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily, shoving her shirts into her purse and taking off her pants, doing the same to them. She took a few deep breaths and opened the door, only to be stopped by the blonde woman. She pulled a glove off of one of her hands and touched Ava's forehead with her bare hand. It was icy cold, but despite that, where their skin came in contact, Ava felt a burning sensation.

Ava's vision became blurry and all her thoughts stopped. All she could hear was that voice from when she was comatose, saying the same thing over and over again: Not ready, not strong enough. Not ready, not strong enough. Suddenly the blonde woman pulled her hand back and Ava's vision started to come back. When she could see properly, all that was in her sight was the blonde woman's face. It held an expression of horror.

"Oh, Odin be with us. She's grown too strong even for my doing...they have merged!" At this, the woman turned and sprinted out, and Ava was right on her heels, her forehead throbbing terribly. Ava felt her skin heating up, and in no time she was surrounded in flames. Ava began shooting columns of fire at the woman, but she dodged them seemily without thinking.

When they ran outside, there was a huge crowd gathered and watching Steve and Loki from a safe distance. The woman shoved her way though the crowd and Ava followed behind easily. Not too hard when you're a mobile campfire, Ava thought.

When she finally reached the middle of the circle, the woman had already reached Loki and they were both escaping. Suddenly, one of Loki's generals showed up on a flying vehicle and the two hopped on, racing away before anyone could do anything.

Steve turned and looked around, spotting Ava and rushing over, but he kept some distance, so as not to get burned. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking her over. He pulled out his phone and dialed Tony, holding it up to his ear.

"Fine. Just a little shaken, but still fine." Her voice was unsteady as her brain tried to process everything that has just happened.

Tony must've picked up on the other end because Steve launched into a brief summary of the night's events and asked for a ride. Ava quickly ran into the restaurant bathroom, flaming down, grabbed her purse and ran out just as a car pulled up to the curb. Steve opened the door for her and helped her in, getting in after her and closed the car door. 


	6. The Aftermath

When they arrived at Stark Tower, Ava and Steve were rushed up to the top floor where Tony, Pepper, Natasha, Clint, and Bruce were all waiting for them.  
As soon as they walked in, Bruce was at Ava's side in seconds. he looked her over, poking and prodding her face, arms, and stomach. "Are you alright?" He said when he was finally satisfied.

Ava smiled. "I'm fine, Dr. Banner. Like I told Steve, who probably told Tony, who would've told you, I'm just a little shaken. But who wouldn't be? I just had one of the most notorious bad guys tell me he wanted to kill me."

Bruce just sighed and hugged her. "I'm just glad that Steve was there to protect you. If you had fought Loki on your own, he could've, and definitely would've, killed you." He squeezed her gently and let her go.

Pepper was tending to the cuts on Steve's forehead while Tony and Clint were talking to him about the fight. Natasha walked over to Ava and sat her down on a couch, taking a seat next to her. She smiled softly. "So, what's your side of the story? Steve said that basically he and Loki fought, while you ran off to the bathroom or wherever, only catching the very end when Loki and that woman ran off. That can't possibly be all that happened to make you so rattled."  
Ava furrowed her brow, not sure how much she should reveal to Natasha. She decided it'd be best just to tell her everything, since she was going to tell the rest of them anyway. She took a deep breath and started.

"Well, after we got to the table and sat down, it couldn't have been more than five minutes before Loki went crazy and he and Steve started fighting. I had my suit on underneath my clothes, just in case I got the chance to change in a phone booth or something. So, after they started, I ran into the bathroom and the blonde woman follows me, which i wasn't aware of at the time. I'm in one of the stalls freaking out, and she's waiting outside for me. So finally I go out, she's standing right there and takes her glove off and touches my head with her freezing fingers. The weird thing was, her hands were definitely cold, but it burned where she touched my skin. Anyway, I lose my vision and my mind goes completely blank. Then I hear this creepy voice in my head saying 'Not strong enough, not ready' over and over. The girl freaks, pulls her hand away from me and says something like 'Odin be with us, she's too strong for me, they have become one.' and then just runs off. So I was pissed and ran after her, more lit up than a lighter on 4/20. I shoot fire at her, we go outside, she and Loki take off and you know the rest." Ava was looking down, afraid of what Natasha's face would look like. She felt like a little kid telling some ridiculous lie to stay out of trouble, though she knew it was the absolute truth.

Natasha reached over and took Ava's hand and squeezed it. "I believe you." She said. "No one can make up such fear. You need to get some sleep. I'll see if Tony can give you and Bruce a ride back, and I'll make sure Bruce stays with you for the night so you feel safe." All Ava could do in response was nod gratefully and wait to be taken back home.

~~At S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ~~

When Ava and Bruce got to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Bruce took Ava in a different direction that the one they always took to get to her house.  
"Dr. Banner, where are we going?" She asked, out of curiosity.

"Security ward. It's much too dangerous to keep you where Loki could possibly get you. Besides," He smirked, "even if he did get to you all the way back here, he'd have to go through me, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to face me again." Ava smiled at this, remembering the story.

~~At Stark Tower~~

After Bruce and Ava left, everyone got to talking without wasting any time. First, Natasha relayed what Ava had told her. When she finished, everyone looked shocked.

"So, when that woman touched her, she zoned out and, what, became schizophrenic?" Tony said, looking dubious.

"Well, not exactly. The woman said 'they' have merged'. What if Ava and something else, someone else, merged somehow?" Pepper said, looking at everyone else.

"But what did she supposedly merge with? And what the hell did that woman do to her?" Tony asked, but no one had an answer.

~~At Loki's Hideout~~

Loki was pacing in front of the window, the blonde woman standing behind him in the shadows.

"What do you mean she was too strong? You have a touch that is deadly to mortals. How could you possibly not kill her?" Loki yelled, turning to face the woman.

She remained calm. "As I told you already, she has grown much too strong The mortal and immortal have been combined and my powers are useless against immortals. You know this."

He sighed, turning back to face the window. He studied the dark skyline, gazing at the unmistakable silhouette of Stark Tower. "Hela," He said, turning back around and smiling. "I think I have a wonderful idea."

"And what's that, father?" She asked cruelly, her lips curling upward.

~~Morning, S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ~~

When Ava woke up in the morning, she could remember bits and pieces of an odd dream. What seemed like memories, ancient and almost forgotten, and that voice she seemed to be hearing more and more frequently.

She rubbed her eyes and pushed the dream from her mind. When she looked around, she saw Bruce sleeping at his post: a chair placed strategically by the door. He could see out but if you looked in, you couldn't see him.

Ava rolled out of bed and shook him awake. He jumped and almost fell off the chair.

"Good morning, sunshine." She said, smiling at him.

"Right, yeah." He said, checking his phone. Ava peeked over his should; three missed calls and 7 texts, all from Tony. "Oh dear," he said, turning to look at Ava. "We have to go to Stark Tower. They talked for most of the night and Thor showed up. He's been gone since right after training, something happened in Asgard. Apparently they have some serious information."

As if speaking for her, Ava's stomach growled. Bruce smiled. "Don't worry, we'll eat when we get there."

~~At Stark Tower~~

Everyone was looking at Thor. He was staring at a surveillance picture of the blonde woman, the only one that you could see her face. EVery time he shifted or moved, everyone held their breath.

Finally, he turned to them. "I can't be sure, but I believe I recognize her. From what I can distinguish, she is Hela. She is a goddess from my world, who looks after the souls of those who do not die in battle. Worse, she is Loki's daughter. They are working together, which can only mean one thing. There is a larger threat to them than either of them can defeat. The thing is, Hela has a special...power. When she touches a mortal with her bare skin, it perishes. Ava...did not die. But, she can not kill immortals. There is something immortal inside of Ava."  
Everyone stared at Thor, speechless. He looked around at them, unwavering.

Finally, Steve broke the silence. "That's impossible. I'm sure if Dr. Banner were here, he'd tell you that it's impossible. She is human!"

"Cap," Tony said, rolling his eyes, "you're almost 100 years old and don't look a day over 20. I wouldn't be talking about the impossible if I were you." There was a moment of awkward silence before Pepper piped up.

"Well, Thor, couldn't you feel it if another immortal were near?"

"Not necessarily." Natasha said. "Even if he could, Aba said that she heard the voice saying something about not being strong enough." Everyone sat in deep though until the bell of elevator chimed and the doors opened, revealing and exhausted Bruce and a peppy Ava.

"Ava." Steve said, walking over to her and embracing her. "How are you?"

Ava smiled. "Fantastic. Those beds in Security are way better than mine. Although I'm pretty sure the chairs aren't too comfortable." She looked apologetically over at Bruce.

"I'd rather be sore and having you safe than well rested and you hurt." Bruce said. Everyone nodded. Then Ava noticed that everyone looked just as tired as Bruce.

"Did you guys stay up all night?" She asked, guilt pooling in the pit of her stomach.

"Not all night. Just most of it. Steve got to sleep, but that's because his face was bleeding. Oh, and Thor showed up. Figured he had something to say about Loki and his girlfriend." His tone polite but his intention joking.

"That's disgusting!" Thor said, offended. "She is his daughter!"

"We know, champ. No go and straighten your hair or something." Tony said, smirking.

"Tony, shut it." Pepper said. "You're only being mean because you haven't slept. You should go to bed." Tony grumbled, but left nonetheless.

"So, blonde woman. Hela. What exactly does that mean?"

"She is the goddess who looks after the sould of those who do not die in battle. She has a touch that is instant death to any mortal." Thor said grimly.

"So, I'm just...not mortal? I'm immortal?" Ava smirked.

"No, you aren't. You're a human being. We believe that there's something inside you that is immortal, though. It keeps you alive when your mind shuts down, but since it isn't strong enough, like you said that it said, it can't survive on it's own." Natasha said.

"So she can't destroy her human body?" Bruce asked.

"No. The immortal part can only keep the mind alive, not the body. That's still up to the mortal part of her body." Natasha answered.

"So...no jumping off building and surviving, then?" Ava said, looking saddened.

"What are you guys going to do now?" Pepper asked.

"Well," Steve said "we're going to keep Ava safe. If Loki wants her dead for whatever reason, we can't let that happen ."

"We have to train more." Natasha input. "Ava can't always have one of us around to protect her. She must be able to defend herself without fainting." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, Pepper," Ava said, "Dr. Banner said I could eat here. Is that a possibility...?" 


	7. Element Theory?

For the next few weeks, they trained Ava hard. They pushed her to very edge of her limits, only to pull back at the last second to prevent any injuries.  
She slet in a room in the security ward with a rotation of one member of the team guarding her. When Tony was there, he just texted Pepper. When Bruce, Natasha, or Clint was there, Ava chatted with them until she drifted off. When Steve was there, he put the chair right next to her bed and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. Thor was the only one excused, as he was off in Asgard getting information about Loki and Hela and what they might be up to.

Meanwhile, the newspapers speculated at the return of Loki ('Can the Avengers Protect Us Again?'), the identity of the 'mysterious' blonde woman('Girlfriend, Wife, Fellow Evildoer?'), and who was with Captain America ('A New Superhero?').

One night, as Ava was trying to sleep and Tony was on guard duty, she spoke up and said something to him.  
"Tony?" She said, half hoping that he was already dozing.

"Yes? Do you need to use the bathroom again?"

"No...I just wanted to talk."

"I can call Steve if you want." His voice had a slight edge of panic.

"No, I wnat to talk to you."

Tony sighed quietly. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Just that I don't think that you're as much of a jerk as you on You can be really mean, but I think that you are because you're actually really sensitive and just don't want to get hurt."

There was a short pause. "And what makes you think that?" He said skeptically.

"I don't really know. I just feel like your suit is sort of a metaphor. Like, you have this infinitely strong outer shell, but as soon as you take that away, you're human underneath just like the rest of us. You still give in to jealous and sadness, like everyone else."

"My suit isn't infinitely strong." Was all he said.

Ava shrugged in the darkness. "It was just a thought," she said, rolling over. "nothing more." She sighed and began drifting off.

~~At Stark Tower~~

In the morning, Ava was woken suddenly from a deep sleep by Tony shaking her. He explained that Thor had returned and they had back to Stark Tower immediately.

Ava changed her clothes, brushed her teeth and hair, and was hurried to the car by an anxious Tony, who obviously wasn't used to being the last to know. They rushed there, and upon arrival Tony dragged Ava out of the car and into the building and up the top floor where everyone was waiting. Tony immediately started talking.

"So, what's happening? Sorry for being late, by the way. Ava takes forever to get ready." To this, Ava just rolled her eyes.

Thor was pacing at the other end of the room, worry etched into his features. "What I've heard is not good. Hela has completely abandoned her post, Hel is in disarray, and Loki managed to dupe his guards which is why I wasn't aware of his disappearance until that night. No one knows what their plan is, but most everyone told me to not try and oppose them. Hela will only attack when the balance of life and death is upset, meaning too many have died in battle or vice versa. As that isn't happening right now, we can only assume she's trying to stop it happening in the near future. But what is has to do with you, Ava, I have no idea."

Everyone sat in silence. Natasha finally spoke up. "Until we know what their plan is, we can only do one thing: prepare ourselves. We must continue training." Everyone looked at Ava, who looked uneasy.

"I don't know..." She said slowly. "I know I can always get better, but...I don't think it'll help. We have two gods teamed up against us. We can't possibly fight them, even if 'm the strongest I can be. And even if we do defeat them, Hela still needs to do her job and look after all the dead souls and Loki can escape prison. It would be pointless."

"Nothing we do is pointless." Steve said, a bit harshly. "Every bead of sweat, every drop of blood, every life lost, it's for something. To try and take out all the evil in the world."

Ava looked around the room, hurt. "You don't have to be mean about it, jeez. I'm just saying that even if we use everything we have and defeat them, they're going to keep doing what they're trying to right now! Hela may be completely insane, but she's trying to keep some sort of giant battle happening! Maybe...maybe what they're trying to do is actually good. Maybe we should...wait a bit and see what they're trying to do. There might be a real threat." She looked down, avoiding everyone's eyes. There was absolute silence.

"I think she has a point." Bruce said, breaking the pause. "It's very possible that they might actually have caught wind of something major."

"I...I agree with Ava." Tony said, suprising everyone. Ava looked up at him and he smiled at her.  
Natasha didn't look sold. "It would be best to wait and learn what they're up to." Thor and Clint nodded in agreement, but Steve stood rigid.

"That means we'll have to do lots of spying and everything, right?" Ava said, looking to Bruce, who nodded at her. "Then um, Natasha and Clint, you guys are the best at that, so maybe you could like...try and find where Loki and Hela are...?" She looked over at Natash and Clint.

"Of course." Natasha said. "We'll leave and get right on that." She looked at Clint and then turned and left, and he was right behind her.

"So then we all just kind of sit around and what...wait?" Ava asked.

Tony smirked. "Pretty much, until we know what they're doing and can attack or whatever the situation calls for." Ava nodded, looking out of it.

Suddenly, Steve turned on his heel and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Ava snapped right back to attention and looked around at everyone, then quickly ran after him. She caught up to him by the elevator.

"Steve!" She yelled, reaching the doors just as they were closing. She stuck her arm out and they opened a second after touching her arm. She put her hands up on the walls to keep them open. "Steve, what's the matter?" She said, looking concerned, but Steve wouldn't look at her. "Are...are you angry at me?" She said, her voice soft.

Finally he looked up at her, a look of pity crossed his face, but his expression returned to anger a second later. "Yes, I'm angry!"

"But...why? I don't understand."

"Because...because you completely emasculated me! You took charge! I've always been the one to do that! You're just a kid!" He said angrily, glaring at her.

Ava looked shocked. She just stood there staring at him. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "F-fine!" She said, her voice shaky. "I'm sorry I'm not the kind of woman who just stands around and looks stupid! Why don't-" Her voice broke and she gave a single sob. "Why don't you just go back to the 40's?" She yelled, dropping her hands and letting the elevator doors close. When she heard the whirring of the machine moving the car, Ava leaned against the walled and cried quietly, holding herself.

~~Loki's Hideout~~

Loki was frustrated. Hela simply wasn't understanding his brilliant plan. He decided to try to explain it just one more time. "The Immortal is weak. She can be easily defeated. If we bring her out before she is ready and dispatch her, we have nothing to worry about. Do you understand now?" at long last, Hela nodded.

"But how do we bring her out? She can only be released when the Shell is ready."

"Simple!" Loki said, laughing heartily. "We cause the the Shell to perform an act to trick the Immortal into thinking that she is ready, then we destroy her!"

"But father, won't that destroy the shell...?"

"Have no pity for the human, Hela. It's childish. Her mind will be destroyed by the taking over. And when the Immortal would leave the Shell for another, stronger host, there will be nothing left in her head. In a way, this is more humane." The word sounded odd on his lips, or so Loki thought.

Hela nodded, looking out the window and feeling a pang of guilt. "Yes, humane."

~~S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ~~

It had been weeks since Ava had talked to any of the Avengers besides Tony and Bruce. Clint and Natasha were off looking for Loki and Hela, Thor was back in Asgard waiting for any news of his brother and niece, and Steve had been avoiding her. Ava stayed in the room in Security that she had been given temporarily. It was bare and white, but she didn't care. For the first time in a long time, she felt lonely. She had always been excluded from most of the world, even before her parents died. They home-schooled her and discouraged her from leaving the house, but she had never felt truly alone.

Bruce and Tony had heard Ava and Steve's fight. They had no idea what to do for her but try and make her happy. Bruce spent much of the day with her in her room, playing card and board games together. Tony tried to take her places, but S.H.I.E.L.D. never approved it, and even so Ava probably wouldn't have left the facility.

One day, Tony decided to visit her while Bruce was doing work in the lab. He walked into the room, carrying a pizza box. Ava laid there, barely looking up. He set the item down on the floor and sat in the only chair in the room.

"Ava?" He said, waving is hand in front of her face.

"I'm not asleep, Tony. I'm just trying not to think."

"Well, that's pretty much impossible. Why don't you eat some pizza? It's your favorite, mushroom with extra cheese."

"Not hungry." She said, rolling over to face the wall.

"Come on, please at least try? I got it from this place that throws the dough in the air in front of you and everything. It's really cool. I tried to make them let me take you there, but-"

"Tony," She said, cutting him off. "Please, just...stop. I told you I'm not hungry. I'd like to be left alone."

Tony sat there for a minute, slightly stunned. "I'm not going to leave until you eat some."

Ava slowly turned over and sat up, glaring at him. She opened the box and pulled out a piece, biting off a small portion and swallowing it. "Leave now." She said, dropping the pizza back in the box." She continued glaring at him.

Tony met her gaze, not wavering. "I'm not actually going to leave. I want to talk."

"Go. Away."

"Never. I know that you and Steve fought-"

"Shut up!"

"Calm down, Ava. I'm not on anyone's side. I just know that you guys fought and that you're obviously upset about it. This has to be your first relationship, right?" He waited until he looked at her. When she did, she nodded and looked away quickly. "Then obviously it's going to be painful for you. You care about him and he was mean, and it hurt. But you can't just mope around, alright? You have to get up and dust off and wait for him to apologize to you." Tony smirked.

Ava looked up at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Well, he should. Because it was totally uncalled for. But I guess I bruised his ego or whatever."

"Well, you know, he is from a different time, when women pretty much sat back and let men do whatever they want. But you're definitely not that type of girl. If you have an opinion, you'll say it loud and proud."

Ava giggled and nodded, still looking down.

"So you shouldn't be upset. Cheer up." Tony smiled at her and she smiled back reluctantly, looking at him.

"You know, my parents died when I was 9." She said softly, looking down at her hands.

"Yeah, I read it in your file."

"They didn't die in a fire like the file says. It was my fault. I got angry and literally exploded. The fire just sort of engulfed the house and they were killed, but I survived, since fire doesn't hurt me. It was the first time my abilities manifested themselves. And the police report said it was a gas leak or something, but when S.H.I.E.L.D. looked into it they knew that wasn't what happened, and they took me in and I admitted everything through tears. The first person I met who was kind to me was Bruce. That's why I like him so much. He was always so nice, asking me to do things, not demanding. He would hold my hand whenever I had blood taken, because I'm really scared of needles." She sniffled a bit and looked up at Tony. "And I have no idea why I'm telling you all this."

Tony smiled slightly. "It's alright. My parents dies when I was 21. They were killed in a car accident that was orchestrated by a rival company of Stark Industries. I know I was an adult, and my father wasn't particularly warm to me, but they were still my parents and it still hurt pretty badly. You really shouldn't blame yourself for their deaths. It wasn't your fault, you didn't know that you could do that."

"I know about your parents, I read your file. And I don't blame myself." Ava said. "I had no idea that my body would do something like that and hurt them. I really didn't. And I don't know why it happened to me, but it did."

"That's good. But how did you read my file?"

"I hacked the system, duh. It's really not that hard. I originally just read mine, but then I saw yours was in there and couldn't really resist." She smiled weakly, blushing slightly.

"Wait, you can hack the system?" He said, looking surprised.

"Well, of course. I have the best computer systems they could possibly get me, all hooked up to their system. I learned how to hack it through trial and error. Unfortunately, there are certain files that I just can't gain access to."

Tony chuckled. "You are full of surprises. Why don't you show me?" He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his handheld.

"Sure." Ava said, taking it from him. She went to DOD website, typed in a few letter and numbers, and S.H.I.E.L.D.S.' database popped up. She continued typing and eventually made it to personnel files. She continued searching and brought up Tony's. "See? There you are..." She typed a few more digits and her file popped up. "and there I am. All the files-wait, what's this?" She clicked on a file entitled 'Element Theory'. A box popped up with the word 'Password' and a field to type in. She looked up at Tony. "They've never password protected my files before."

"Let me see." Tony said, holding his hand out. Ava gave it back to him and he opened up a program, entitled 'Password Crack' and began running it. "I started a program that's going to figure out the password, but it'll take a minute."

Ava nodded and stared at the computer screen, waiting for the program to work. "So, what do you think is in the file?" She said, sounding a bit nervous.

"Well, judging by the title, it's going to be some sort of idea about you."

"What...what if it gives an idea of why I have my powers...?"

"If it makes you feel any better, they're probably going to be wrong." They both smiled and went back to waiting. After a few minutes, Tony set the handheld on the ground and picked up a slice of pizza. "Might as well eat in the meantime, right?"

Ava laughed and picked up a piece herself, taking a bite. "You know," she said, her voice slightly muffled by the food in her mouth, "this is actually pretty good." Tony chewed and held up his slice and Ava tapped hers against his in a sort of toast.

They continued eating until they were both full. Just as Ava closed the box, the handheld beeped on the floor and Tony picked it up before Ava could manage to get her hands on it.

"Well, the password is cracked and we have access to the file." He paused for a moment as he hit the 'open' option and read through it quickly. Then he sat there for a moment staring at it in surprise. He read through it again. Ava could see that the contents consisted of one paragraph, no longer than five or six lines.

"Tony, can I please read it?" She said, holding out her hand.

"Uh, I really don't think that's a good idea. This is...really intense."

"But it's about me, I have a right to know."

"Ava, please trust me. This is a terrible idea. It really is. You can't read it. They put a password on it for a reason, alright? If they thought that you could handle it, they would've told you."

Ava looked shocked. "Tony, please..."

He just stood up and turned away. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go and see Bruce.

~~Bruce's Lab~~

Bruce was working with splicing two different DNA strands together, trying to achieve Ava's sequence. When Tony walked in, Bruce was attempting human and demigod DNA, using Thor's general pairings.

"Bruce, what the hell is this?" Tony said, angrily thrusting the handheld toward Bruce. Bruce took it and read the file on the screen.

"Oh dear..." Bruce said, sighing. "It's...it's just an idea I had from my work with DNA, alright? It can't even be proven. They insisted on putting it in her file. Which was, by the way, password protected."

"It doesn't matter! Is it even possible?"

"Really? You honestly think a dormant demigod can live within a human being?"

"You were the one who thought of it, Bruce!"

"I honestly don't know. I mean, it couldn't happen with a normal human being. We're human, and demigod DNA is different than ours. But as we already know, Ava's DNA is slightly off from a normal human's. And there are plenty of ancient dieties that could be real like Thor who control the powers of the elements."

"And you're not going to tell her?"

Bruce looked him in the eyes. "No. Will you?"

Tony sighed. "No."

"Then let's just keep it between you and I then. It was just a simple idea I threw out, anyway." Bruce turned back to his computer and continued working. "Oh!" He said suddenly, startling Tony.

"What is it?" Tony said, looking over his shoulder.

"I...I can't believe this. I just theoretically spliced together the DNA of a human being and Thor, and look at the results in comparison to Ava's."  
Tony looked at the DNA models and expanded them, scrutinizing the pictures. Then he read through the results of the pairings. "Bruce, I think that you might have just-"

"I did. Her father was a geneticist for S.H.I.E.L.D., so he could've done it himself. She wouldn't have been born like this."

"Wait, her father was a geneticist? It didn't say that in her file." Tony said, sounding slightly angry.

"It doesn't say a lot of things in her file." Bruce muttered, his attention completely on the computer screen. "So, the gene sequence is almost exactly the same. Only a few spots are different. That must mean that-"

"That the genes that were spliced with hers weren't from an Asgardian, but some other being."

"But a being similar to Thor. Possibly from another universe..."

"Exactly. A place we don't know about yet. But how could we not if someone got a hold of the DNA?" Tony looked over at Bruce, who looked grim. "What is it?"

"Well..." Bruce said, sighing. "What if her father did know of them? He found one, like Jane Foster found Thor. But he didn't tell S.H.I.E.L.D. and no one found out?"

"That's possible, but why would he splice that being's genes with those of his unborn daughter?" Tony asked, continuing to study the computer model.

"Only he could tell us why, and he's dead now."

"Jesus, what if..." Tony said, looking over at Bruce with dumbfounded expression.

"What if the 'she' that Hela was talking about actually was a dormant demigod in Ava." Bruce finished Tony's sentence for him, looking more grim than ever.

"But what are we going to do?"

"Nothing. We can't prove anything. And if we told anyone, they would take Ava and either destroy her or try and wake the demigod." Bruce looked at Tony, who stared back, horrified.

~~Fury's Office~~

Fury sat at his desk, intently watching a video on his computer when Agent Maria Hill walked in. 'But what are we going to do?' was all she heard before he stopped it. She recognized the voice as Tony Stark's. "Sir, you wanted to see me." She said, standing straight.

"Yes." Fury said, getting up. "I need you to get me Ava Blanchette, immediately." Fury said, walking past her to the door.

She turned. "May I ask why, sir?"

He stopped, turning his head slightly to the side. "Because we're about to get ourselves another demigod." 


	8. First and Last

After Tony left, Ava laid back down on the bed, sighing. 'What in the world could that file hold?', she thought. She heard muffled voices floating down the hall outside her door, turning from conversational to urgent. She got up and looked out the little window in the door. Unable to see anything, she opened the door and leaned out, seeing Agent Maria Hill talking to two guards. Agent Hill glanced behind the guards, looking right at Ava. Then Agent's expression changed and she pushed past the guards, walking quickly and purposefully.

Ava panicked. She went into her room, grabbed her bag of clothes and raced out the door and down the hall, Agent Hill right on her heels.

"Ava, stop! I order you, stop!" Agent Hill yelled, pulling her firearm. "Stop or I will be forced to shoot!"

'Shoot?' Ava thougt. 'Oh God, they're going to do something horrible to me...'

Ava threw her hand out behind her, sending a wall of air out from her palm. She heard the thud of the gun hitting the ground and skidding. She ran faster, through the hospital wing. She stopped at the door to her compound, putting in the key code and running in, seeing Agent Hill just a few yards down the hall. She slammed the door behind her, locking it. She knew she'd have a few minutes, as only very few people know the code to her door, and Agent Hill wasn't one of them.

She turned and ran right into her house. She went into her bedroom, threw open her dresser draws and packed her duffel bag with extra clothes and her wallet, carrying a rather large amount of cash. Hudson was laying on her bed. He looked up and meowed at her. She felt a pang of sadness, but pushed it out of her mind immediately. Then she went into the bathroom and packed three bars of soap, shampoo, conditioner, a toothbrush and toothpaste. As she was zipping the bag, a thought occurred to her. She hurried back into her room and opened her closet. The only thing in there was her suit. She smirked slightly and ripped it off the hanging, going back to her duffel bag and shoving it inside, zipping it and putting the strap over her shoulder. She went to one of the windows and peeked out through the curtains. Not only had Agents gotten in, they were at every possible exit. There seemed to be now way out. Well, except one.

Ava stood in the middle of the living room. She was about to try something she'd only been able to do successfully one time before. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Then she lifted her hand upward, facing her palm to the ceiling. She pushed as much air upward as she could. Papers and dirt and other lightweight objects flew around in the air, whipping around her head. The ceiling began to creak and groan, unwilling to give in. Ava pushed harder and harder, the ceiling protesting louder. Finally, with one final, big push, the ceiling and all bursted upward and outward. Ava quickly pulled back, looking up to see a giant hole in the ceiling. She silently congratulated herself, but as soon as she did, Agents broke in. She faced her palms to the floor and shoved the air toward the ground, lifting her up. She looked down, only seeing the ends of guns pointed at her.  
She gasped and used more thrust, going upward. She carefully aimed the wind so that she stayed steady in the sky and flew forward, over the walls of the place that had, for so long, been her home. She continued outward, gaining speed, until she was well away from S.H.I.E.L.D. and into New York City. She flew past office building and over traffic, more than just a few people taking notice.

As she was just going by the Woolworth Building, Ava realized that she had no destination. She couldn't go to Stark Tower, that was the first place that S.H.I.E.L.D. would go. She could never imagine being the cause of Tony's building being turned upside-down by those Agents. They would find her if she stayed there, she knew it. Then one singular word sprung up in her mind: Brooklyn. It was where her house used to be, right where the Hudson River emptied into the Atlantic. She steered herself there, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to the surprise of many motorists. She touched down in Red Hook, her old neighborhood. She walked down the streets, trying to remember any of them. Finally, at long last, she found something she remembered. On the corner of two streets, there was a bright blue house. Her father always told her that if she got lost, to find the street with the blue house on the corner and walk down it all the way until it ends and then turn left and walk until she found the house.

She turned on to the street, in a dream state. She barely even felt the weight of the duffel bag on her shoulder and she reached the end of the street. Her hair was windswept and her cheeks were bright red from the cold of the wind. She turned left, her feet barely seeming to touch the ground. She walked in that daze until she was snapped out of it by the sight of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents on the street. She ran and hid behind a car parked in the road, trying to slow her racing heart. She looked around the car, seeing them approach a house. 'Oh...' Ava though, 'that's where my house used to be...' She felt a hot tear roll down her cheek and angrily wiped it away and pulled her head back behind the car. She looked around worriedly, unable to see an unnoticeable escape. She sighed, getting into a ready position to run in between houses, through the backyards. she took a quick peek past the car and made sure none of the agents were looking, and made a break for it. She ran up the yard and hopped the fence of the first yard, running across it. She hopped the next fence and the next, until she ran out of yards and ended up on some strange side street. She sat on the curb and caught her breath. She heard rustling behind her and felt defeat. Instead, she got an old woman's voice.

"Excuse me young lady, are you alright?" The woman said, from some distance behind Ava.

Ava stood and turned, giving her best smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you so much for your concern."

The old woman smiled back and came a little closer. "I saw you run through my yard and was worried you were being chased by someone bad!" The woman chuckled, and Ava joined her.

"No, no. Just thought it'd be a shortcut to my house. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I am."

"Oh, dear, please come in then! I'll make you some tea!" Before Ava could refuse, the old woman had grabbed her arm and started to guide her inside the house. Just as the door was closing behind her, Ava saw a few Agents walk down the street, not really looking. 'Lucky me.' She thought.

~~Steve's Apartment, Brooklyn~~

"Stupid!" Steve yelled, punching the bag. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He said, punching the bag each time he said the word. "STUPID!" He yelled, this time louder than the rest, slamming his fist into the bag and sending it flying. He huffed a sigh and sat down on the bench, unwrapping the tape from his hands. He reached over and picked up his phone, looking at the background picture. It was of him and Ava, after she had attempted to teach him to splatter paint. They were both covered in various shades of bright colored paint and were smiling giddily. "Idiot..." Steve muttered, putting the phone back down.

He cleaned up the gym and went back to his apartment to shower, changing in to jeans and a t-shirt. Then he sat on his couch and listened to the 'oldies' radio station. He was restless, though. He kept getting up and walking around. He started doing push-ups in the middle of the floor and pull-ups in the door frame of his bedroom. Finally, he decided to change into shorts and go for a jog.

He ran for a good while along the coast of Brooklyn, heading south. After about 7 or 8 miles, he slowed down to a jog and went through the unfamiliar neighborhood. As he passed a bright blue house, he saw a few S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents half-heartedly wandering around. He walked up to on of them and tapped the man on the shoulder. The Agent turned around, startled.

"Hi. What exactly are you doing here?" Steve said, glancing around.

"Uh, well, that girl, Amy or whoever-"

"Ava?" Steve interrupted the man, sounding eager. "Ava Blanchette?"

"Yeah, her. She escaped from headquarters and we were looking for her, hoping that she'd come to this area. We tracked her movement as far as the Brooklyn Bridge, but after that she's completely disappeared. You haven't seen her, have you?" The man wasn't really interested in Steve's answer.

"No, not for a couple weeks. I was just going for a run and ended up here." The man thanked Steve and walked away, leaving Steve confused in the middle of the street. 'Escaped?' He thought, 'Why would she want to escape?' He shook the thought and turned around, jogging back the way he came, thoughts swirling in his head.

He jogged down a couple streets, looking for a main road to get back to his apartment. Unfortunately, he only ended up on an almost abandoned street. He muttered to himself and looked around. Just as he was turning away, he saw a door opening out of the corner of his eye. He turned back, just in time to see a young woman with short, dark hair slipping out of a house.

~~Old Woman's House, Greenpoint, Brooklyn~~

The kind old woman began making tea while humming. Ava went over and looked out the curtained window, seeing that there were no more agents outside. She relaxed and went into the kitchen, sitting down at the table.

"So, honey, where do you live?" The woman asked, taking the whistling kettle off the stove and pouring the boiling water into two mugs.

"Um...Brooklyn." Ava replied absentmindedly, putting her bag down at long last.

"What part?" The woman set on of the cups in front of Ava, along with sugar and cream.

"Um...I'm actually not really sure. I...I kinda don't live anywhere in particular. I used to live not too far from here, but we had to...move. From that fire." Ava stirred in a spooful of sugar and took a sip of the tea, relishing the taste.

"I remember that fire. Painted the sky an angry orange for hours. Destroyed four or five houses. That was when my husband was alive, years ago. I knew the couple whose house it started in. Very nice people, the Blanchettes. Which house were you in?"

Ava's mind raced. She couldn't very well say that she was from her house; S.H.I.E.L.D. made up the story that she had died in the hospital from injuries. "Uh, the one next door. We weren't home when it happened, though. You know, visiting family."

"Oh, so you're the Evans' girl? I remember when you were just a baby! Started dying your hair, then?"

Ava looked confused for a second, then she realized that Gina, the Evans' daughter, was blonde. "Uh, yeah. I did. Just a year or two ago."

"What happened to your folks? Aren't you living with them?"

"I'm...going to college. The dorms are closed for break, though. I'm just looking for a hotel to stay in for a week or two." The lies kept rolling off her tongue and she wasn't even phased.

"Oh, that's nice." The woman smiled and held out her hand. "My name is Penelope, by the way."

Ava shook her hand. "Gina." They sat there in silence for a few more minutes, periodically sipping tea. Ava kept glancing out the window, shifting uncomfortably.

"Young lady, you can leave whenever you like. I'm not going to keep you here."

Ava smiled politely. "I think that I will leave, thanks." She put the mug on the table and stood up, picking up her bag and putting the strap across her chest.

"Safe travels." Penelope said, smiling sweetly. Ava nodded thanks and headed for the door. "Oh, and try not to get caught," Penelope said, smiling knowingly. "Ava Blanchette."

Ava smiled back and slipped out the door as silently as possible. She began heading down the street in the opposite direction as her old house. As she was walking, she heard light footsteps behind her. She wasn't all that worried, knowing that she could fight off any of the Agents without a sweat, she just didn't want to make a scene. She walked a bit faster, and the footsteps behind her sped up as well. Then she began a brisk jog, then a run, and then a full-out sprint. The footsteps behind her kept up the whole time.

"Ava!" A man's voice called out, urgently but quietly. Ava didn't turn to see who it was. Se was panicking. She didn't know where to go, and she couldn't fight him. He couldn't have been an Agent, but he must be at the same time. How else would he know who she was?

"Ava!" The man called again, not even winded. Suddenly, Ava realized who it was. 'Steve!' Her whole mind screamed, urging her to stop. She couldn't possibly stop in the middle of the street like that, she might get caught. She made a quick right, directly into a small wooded area in a park. It would provide enough cover for them to talk. She jumped over fallen trees and stopped in a quiet clearing, bending at the waist and trying to catch her breath.

Steve arrived in the clearing, almost silently. He was barely breathing hard. "Ava! What in the world do you think you're doing?"

Ava huffed, barely getting enough breath to speak. "Ran away...from S.H.I.E.L.D. ...they were gonna...do something bad..." She clutched at a stitch in her side, wincing in pain.

"Who would you do something so stupid as run away?" He moved a step closed and moved his hand as if to reach out and touch her, but dropped it back at his side after she gave him a dirty look.

"Told you...S.H.I.E.L.D. was going...to do something bad...to me." She wheezed, leaning against a tree.

"And how did you figure that?"

"Because, when I started to leave my room...they pulled a gun on me. Then I went back to my house...and they surrounded it. They all had guns. I figured it'd be best if I took my leave." Ava slowed her breath, massaging the aching muscle in her side.

"What...what do they want?"

"Don't know. Just knew I had to leave." Ava glared at the ground, anger flaring up in her at him. "So they had you out looking for me too, huh?"

"God, no! I was restless at home so I decided to go for a run and just ended up here." Steve looked at her apologetically. Ava gave no reply, and there was a painful silence as Steve got up his courage. "I...I'm sorry." His hushed apology rung out in the silent clearing. "I really am. What I said and did was wrong. I've been beating myself up over it for all these weeks. I don't expect you to just say that it's okay, because it's not. I just hope that eventually you can forgive me."

Ava glanced at Steve. His face was contorted with pain. She immediately looked in the opposite direction. "Thank you for apologizing. I appreciate it."

Steve sighed. "So what now? Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know." Ava said, being completely honest. "I can't go anywhere without S.H.I.E.L.D. knowing. They're everywhere."

"Yeah, they are. You can stay with me-"

"No way. They're going to check there. They know you and I were involved." Ava stood up straight, looking around.

"'Were'? What do you mean 'were'?"

Ava sighed heavily. "Steve, you know we can't be involved at all anymore. I'm a fugitive, you're the golden boy. You have no idea what they'll do to you if they think you know where I am. I'm sorry."

"No, it's...fine. I guess. I should've seen it coming."

"Just..." Ava felt a rush of emotions and tears welled up in her eyes. "Just please don't tell them that we talked. You have to promise me that." A tear rolled down her cheek but before it could reach her jawline, Steve had wiped it away and tipped her head upward, pulling her into a kiss. Ava let him wrap his arms around her, letting his warmth flow over her.

When they finally pulled away, Ava looked up at Steve and their eyes met. Before she could manage to say anything, Ava buried her face against his chest and sobbed. He held her and stroked her hair, silent tears flowing from his eyes.

When Ava felt her cheeks finally dry, she looked back at Steve. His eyes looked sad but he was smiling. "Hey," He whispered, "at least we get to say goodbye. Sometimes...sometimes you can't even do that..."

"Yeah, that's amazing consolation." Ava said, smirking a bit. They stood there, Ava in Steve's arms, feeling that this was the last time that they would ever see each other. Suddenly hiss arms tightened around her and his eyes gained a passion to them that she hadn't seen before.

"Ava..." His said in a deep, low voice.

Ava said nothing, just nodding. A single tear fell. 'First and last...' She thought bitterly to herself. 


	9. Ava Makes a Choice

Loki was sitting in a chair, staring out the window when Hela rushed in, frantic. She began stammering out fragments of sentences. He raised his hand and she fell silent. He put his hand down and she still said nothing. "Hela, do you know what I was just thinking about?" He stood from his chair and walked around the room, circling her.

"Um...father, I don't know..."

"That, perhaps...to get to the shell, we'll have to take her, not just sit around."

"But father-"

"Hela! I am SPEAKING!" He shouted, and Hela flinched. "Now, I think we should go to headquarters and just take her-"

"Fa-"

"HELA, STOP INTERRUP-"

"FATHER, THE SHELL HAS ESCAPED FROM THE HEADQUARTERS!" Hela screamed, glaring at Loki.

"Oh, she has?" Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! And she is wandering around the city, alone and unprotected." Hela smirked.

Loki walked to the window and looked out of it, smiling widely. "Hela, leave this one to me."

~~Brooklyn~~

Ava walked through the streets of Brooklyn as the sun was setting. She felt empty, abandoned. It wasn't anyone's fault. She was just trying to make sure Steve was safe. She sighed, trying to push all that from her thoughts. She started trying to think of where to go. 'A motel?' She thought, looking around her. All the places had cameras. She quickly slipped into a gift shop. She grabbed a hoodie off a rack and purchased that along with a semi-large suitcase. She asked the clerk where that bathroom was, going in and changing her pants, pulling on the hoodie and putting the hood up, then switching her clothes from the standard-issue black S.H.I.E.L.D. duffel bag to the navy-colored wheeled suitcase. She slipped out the side door of the store into an alley, throwing the old bag and her pants into the dumpster, walking in the opposite direction of the street she entered the store on. She found a fire escaped on the side of a building and climbed up in, running across the rooftops. When she felt she was a safe enough distance away, she climbed down the side of a building and went back on the street, carefully making sure that no camera could see her face.

When she reached the 'darker' side of Brooklyn, she went into another convienece store. She bought a couple boxes of hair bleach and a big box of ramen noodles. She paid for it in cash, saying nothing. She slipped back on to the street and entered the lobby of a run-down motel. The man at the counter was elderly, reading a worn-out paperback. Ava walked up, clearing her throat to get his attention. He glanced up, heaving a sigh and marking the page. He stood up, looking bored.

"Welcome to our illustrious hotel. What type of room would you like?" His voice was slow and bored.

"A single." Ava said in a deeper voice than her real one.

"Are you meeting a male friend who I should tell your room number to?"

Ava felt a stab of pain in her chest. "No. I'm alone. I have a question, though." The man just raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "Are there any cameras here? Any at all?"

The man smiled wryly. "No, you don't have to worry about that. No cameras, only out front. You know, cuz the police require it."

"Great. I have no other questions. I'd like to go up to my room now."

He turned around and pulled a key out of a cubbyhole, holding it out to her. "Enjoy your stay."

She went to take the keys, but the man grabbed her wrist, turning her hand over and inspecting it. "You have too nice of nails to be staying in a place like this. What are you doing here?"

It was her turn to smirk. "Running away." She pulled her hand away and grabbed the key, turning away. "Oh, there is one more thing. If you tell anyone about me staying here, I'll kill you."

~~The Motel~~

Loki walked down the streets of what the humans had named 'Brooklyn'. He looked around, thoroughly disgusted by everything. A man asked him for change. Loki looked down at the man and sneered, sparing him. Loki had much bigger things in mind. He continued down the street, looking for the building where the Shell was staying.

After half an hour of wandering, Loki found it. He walked in, looking around. "I am here to see the one called 'Ava'!" He demanded. The only other person in the room, the man behind the desk, looked up.

"Sorry, we don't take peoples' names here."

Loki grew furious at the man's ignorance. "Puny human! This quest is of the utmost importance!"

"Jeez, no wonder she was hiding..." The man said, turning the page of his book.

"So there is a woman here, then?"

"There are several women here." The man looked over the top of his glasses at Loki. "None have clients quite like you..."

"I demand to see her!"

"She said no visitors, so I can't tell you the room number."

Loki glared at the man, and the book was ripped out of his hands and hit the wall across the room. "Tell me where she is, NOW!"

The man sighed. "Room 112." Loki sneered and walked past the man, who was getting up to go and get his book, mumbling about laying off of the drugs.

~~Ava's Motel Room~~

Ava sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her hair, sighing. Then she picked up a box of the hair bleach and read the instructions. She didn't have a bowl, so she settled for using the plugged-up sink. 'Hydrogen peroxide?' she thought, mentally hitting her head against the wall. Then she remembered that she had thrown a first aid kit into her bag. She walked over to her suitcase and pulled everything out of it, dumping it on the bed. She rifled through the pile of things, finally finding the kit. She opened it, pulling out the bottle. She went back to the bathroom, mixing the hydrogen peroxide with the stuff from the box with gloves from the kit. She began working it through her hair, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She felt a bit of sadness for bleaching her hair. She had always liked having black hair. Both of her parents did and it always reminded her of them, but in a good way. She sighed sadly and finished applying the bleaching mixture and sat on the edge of the bathtub.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of the alarm clock. She shut off the alarm, turned on the tap, unplugged the sink, and washed her hair. She stood up and looked hard at the mirror. There were bags under her eyes and her cheeks were unusually pale. Just as she was turning on the water in the shower, she heard the echoing of footsteps in the hall. She left the water on and went to the door, looking out the peephole. She saw no one initially, but then a shadow crossed in front of the doorway. All Ava could make out from the shape was that it was a male. She dropped down to the floor, peeking out the gap at the bottom of the door to hopefully be able to see something. A shiver ran down her spine as the man walked forward. She saw the black boots, the bottom edge of the green cape. She wanted to move, but was paralyzed. The man crouched down, peering underneath the door back at her. The blue eyes, the pale skin, the dark hair. She knew the face instantly: Loki.

"Knock, knock." he said, sneering.

Ava stood up and stumbled backwards. She looked around the room, knowing full well that there were no weapons. The only weapon she had was her powers, and she was already exhausted from all that had happened that day. And even if she wasn't, Loki could control objects with his mind; he could control her if he wanted. It would be useless to fight back. She backed up to the wall, bracing herself for death while watching the door. The only thing that happened, though, was the doorknob turned and the door opened.

"Sorry to intrude." Loki said, looking around the room distastefully and closing the door behind him. "I hope you're not thinking of fighting." Ava shook her head defeatedly. "Fantastic." He walked toward her slowly. "Wouldn't want to make a mess, now would we?" As he smirked, he really looked at her. He stopped mid-step and raised an eyebrow. "Hair dye? Really? You thought that you could hide from me by simply-"

"I wasn't hiding from you, Loki." She muttered.

He looked a bit shocked, but regained his composure and laughed. "Oh, yes. That troublesome S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. How quickly humans turn on each other when there is something bigger at stake."

"Something bigger? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh?" He said, searching her face and seeing genuine surprise. "They really didn't tell you, did they?" He sounded amused.

"Didn't tell me what?" She said angrily, taking a step away from the wall.

"If you come with me quietly, I'll tell you."

"I don't have a choice about coming with you."

"That is true. But at least this way, that pesky Fury won't know either of us were here. So, what do you say?" Loki held out his hand, raising an eyebrow. Ava stared at him, silently cursing him. Then she reached out her arm and took his hand. He teleported them back to his hideout. Not two minutes later, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents broke into the room, to find her clothes scattered and the water still running in the shower. 


	10. The Goddess

When Ava opened her eyes, she realized she was in a room in an office building. There was no furniture, except for a single desk with a single chair behind it, right in front of big windows looking out on the skyline of New York City. There was a woman standing there, and after a second of processing, Ava realized that it was Hela. She was wearing a floor-length evening gown in a dark shade of green. Ava immediately pulled her hand away from Loki and took a step back.

"Tell me." She said, looking between Loki and Hela.

"Well, it's very complicated-"

"Tell. Me." Ava said, her teeth gritted.

Loki shrugged, going over to to the chair and sitting down. Hela followed him, standing just in front of the desk. "Well, you see, it all starts before you were even born. Your father went to Greece on vacation with your mother. There, he discovered another race of beings. They were quite similar to me, ancient beings from a different universe. Except that they, they were trapped here. Their planet was dying, and they searched for somewhere to stay. They chose this planet. They arrived thousands of years ago, and the humans regarded them as gods. They lived on the top of mountains. 'Olympians', humans called them. Well, your father discovered them, but he didn't tell government, no. He talked to them himself. They saw how the humans were destroying this planet slowly, the planet that they called home. They wanted to get back at the humans, restore the earth. Your father was weak willed and fell for one of the goddesses. She manipulated him, told him to help them. Of course, he agreed. He came up with a plan. You see, your daddy dearest was a geneticist at S.H.I.E.L.D. and, being more than happy to help, said he would create a human able to carry their most precious god. Unfortunately, you can't change human DNA in an already developed human. So, he took a sample of their DNA and combine it with his own. He was already married to your mother, and she was more than willing to have a child. Within a few months, your mother was pregnant with you. Your father kept in contact with those Olympians, updating them on your progress as a fetus. When you were born, they rejoiced. Your father took you back to them in Greece. They performed a ritual on you, instilling the goddess into you, where she has slept all these years. As a side effect, you have her powers. One day, very soon, she shall be awakened and destroy all the humans, bringing the control of the planet back to the Olympians." When he finished, Ava just stared. She felt no emotion whatsoever.

"So...you're saying...I have some sort of goddess inside of me?"

"That's exactly what I said." Loki stated, slightly annoyed.

"And...my dad did this to me?"

"Correct." Hela purred, smiling evilly.

"But...what do you want with me?" Ava said, looking between the two demigods.

Loki looked to Hela, who walked forward and circled Ava. "This is where I come in. I control Hel, where the souls of all the dead go who don't die in battle. See, if you were allowed to just awaken that little goddess inside of you, then so many innocent people would die. The balance of souls would horribly offset, and that would make my job much more difficult than it needs to be."

"Um, alright. I understand why you're doing this. But, why is Loki involved? Doesn't he want humans to die?"

Loki laughed at this. "So stupid, you humans are. I want to rule the earth. What am I to rule if the humans are dead? I cannot rule a planet devoid of citizens! And besides that, the Olympians would be back in power. A war between gods would be quite irksome and much too much work."

"So...what? You're going to just murder me?" Ava didn't looked scared, just tired.

"We've already tried that." Hela said, annoyed. "It didn't work. You won't die with someting immortal inside of you. We have to kill the Immortal."

"The Immortal, right. Who exactly is she?" Ava was scared of the answer.

"You haven't figured it out?" Loki asked, amused. "Human stupidity never ceases to amaze me."

"I never really was good at memorizing the Greek and Roman gods."

"Well, it's Gaia of course!" Hela said, cackling. "Goddess of the earth!"

Ava stared at them. She dug through her memory, grasping at anything about Gaia. "Wait...but she was literally the earth. She didn't have a human-like form..."

"Finally! Yes, she was just the earth!" Loki stood up, looking crazed. "She was the strongest of them, but lost her corporeal form. She took to the earth, which was the only lifeless form able to accept her. She has been unable to live as the others for all this time. Then, they had you! She could bring the human race to its knees in seconds! But obviously we're not going to let that happen."

"But how can you destroy her? If she takes over my body, with the powers she has, she can beat you so easily!"

"That's only when the body she's in is strong enough."

"You're saying I'm not strong?" Ava asked, sounding offended.

He sneered as he spoke. "She only takes over your body when you're strong enough for it. If we make her take over now, we could destroy her. And even if you were strong enough, you are completely enhausted at the moment."

"And if you kill her, you kill me too." Ava stated. There was no question, she knew the answer. Loki had no expression, but Hela's eyebrows knit and the edges of her mouth drooped downward. 'She feels sorry for me...' Ava realized. 'She doesn't want to kill me...'

"You know you have no choice. We're doing it with or without your permission."

"You don't have to force me." Ava said, startling him. "I'll do it. It will save the lives of peope who would die needlessly. I can't be held responsible for that, just because I don't want to die."

"If it makes you feel any less fearful," Hela said quietly, "your mind will be destroyed the second that the Immortal takes over. You won't feel pain. It will be over for you in seconds."

Ava felt sorrow in her heart. She realized that, even though Hela's job was to look after the dead, she didn't like causing it, especially needlessly. 'Well, that's why she's here, isn't it?' Ava thought. 'She's here to keep people from dying.'

"Since you agree, this shall be quick and simple."

~~Steve's Apartment~~

Steve got back to his apartment late. He turned on the light, kicked off his shoes, and sat on the coach, sighing deeply. He had always imagined what his first time would be like. It would be with his new wife on his honeymoon, not with a woman he had met only a few months before in a patch of woods. And never had he imagined it would be so terribly sad. He had tried not to cry, but how could he not? He loved Ava. At least, he thought he did. He had only really ever been in love once before, but she was gone now. And so was Ava.

He sighed again, looking up at the ceiling. Suddenly, a noise made him jump. He realized that it was his phone and he picked it up. The screen displayed 'Tony'. He pressed the 'Answer' button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Cap, we have a big problem here."

"What is it, Tony?" Steve already knew the answer.

"It's Ava. They're saying she's run away-"

"I know." Steve said, sighing and rubbing his temple.

"Wait, how did you know?"

"She told me."

There was a second of silence and Steve heard the sound of a door closing in the background. "You talked to her?"

"Yeah, I did. I ran into her by accident."

"What did she say? Why did she do it?" Tony was whispering.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. was doing something. Aparently she tried to leave her room and one of the Agents pulled a gun on her. She said something bad was going to happen, she she left."

"Oh Christ..." Tony said. "Listen, Steve, this is very important. Bruce and I have found something extremely important. It's probably what caused S.H.I.E.L.D. to go crazy. We have a memory stick with the information on. It's not safe for him or I to have it, not now that they're going crazy. Will you hold on to it for us? You're the last one they'd check."

"Of course. Where do you want to meet?"

"You remember that Shwarma place?"

"Of course." Steve smiled at the memory.

"There in 20 minutes." There was the sound of a door opening and a stern voice obviously scolding Tony, who immediately hung up.  
Steve ended the call on his end and sighed, setting his phone down on the coffee table. He got up and put his shoes back on. He shut the light off and closed the door, locking it behind him.

~~Loki's Hideout~~

Ava stared at Loki. "You have to be kidding me, right?"

"No, I am not. You must do something with your powers that's more advanced than anything you've ever done before." He sounded completely serious, which surprised Ava thoroughly.

"Is there anything specific, or do I have to just sort of...wing it?" She glanced over at Hela, who looked totally confused. "Wiing-it means to make it up as you go along."

"Oh. Then yes, you have to do that. There is nothing specific that you can do to force it."

"Fantastic..." Ava muttered. "So, assuming that I manage to wake her up, you're sure you can kill her?"

"Completely."

Ava took a shaky breath. "Alright then..." She looked at the ground, trying to hold back tears.

Hela looked over to Loki, who looked more than slightly disgusted. He met her eyes, then turned away. Hela walked over to Ava, gently touching her shoulder. "Ava, I know that you're scared. But you won't feel a thing. Like falling asleep, but quicker. I'll make sure to meet you in Hel, make sure that you're okay. You won't be alone there." Ava nodded, throwing her arms around Hela's neck. Hela patted her back, knowing that comforting Ava was impossible.

When Ava was able to pull herself together, Hela let go of her and went back to stand by Loki. Ava took a few deep breaths and conjured up the rest of her strength. She slowly felt flames crawling up her body from her feet. She conjured up a whirlwind, forcing it into a miniature tornado.  
Loki smiled, his eyes looking dark. "Now all she has to do is bring out one more..." Hela just nodded, unable to look at him.

Ava clenched her fingers into fists, struggling to bring out a third element. She sensed the small amount of life, hidden underneath the sidewalks. She pulled at them with her mind. When they resisted, Ava only pulled harder. Her exertion caused the tornado to become bigger, fanning the flames around her body. Finally, she felt some response from the plants. They began growing, becoming stronger. The tendrils grew rapidly, slithering up the side of the building and growing in through the windows.

Loki tried to see through the debris swirling in the cyclone to Ava. He noticed the winds wer dying down, moving closer. "Ava, I told you to not stop!"  
"Ava?" A voice said. It was Ava's, but also different. Like two voices at once, layered on top of each other. Ava's was there, but on top of it was a deeper, seemingly more ancient voice. "Is that the name of this body?"

Loki smiled, taking a few steps forward. "Well, well. Gaia, nice of you to join us."

"Hmm." She said, looking at her hands. "This human is..."

"Weak? Yes, we know." He smirked, his staff materializing in his hand.

Gaia laughed. "Puny man! You may think that you are a god, but you have no power! I am a true god!" Wind swirled around her, whipping up debris. She reached out one arm, and the wind surged forward, sending Loki and Hela flying through the window. She walked to the window, standing in the windowpane. She surveyed the city, looking into the dark night illuminated by the city lights. "Soon." She whispered to herself, stepping out on to one of the vines. 


	11. The Avengers and, Loki?

Steve walked into the small restaurant, looking around. He saw Tony and Bruce sitting at a table together. Steve went over and sat down. Tony and Bruce looked grim and tired. "So, what's up back at HQ?" Steve said, watching the pair shift uncomfortably.

"It's not good." Bruce spoke up, sighing and removing his glasses. "I was working in the lab, doing some recreational work with the computer models. I decided to combine basic human DNA with Asgardian DNA. It was so similar to Ava's, it was startling. I didn't tell anyone except Tony, but Fury somehow found out. He also found out my idea of Ava's DNA being modified to make her body able to house that of an otherwordly demigod figure, like Thor. It would explain her powers as well. Anyway, Fury was planning to imprison Ava and force whatever it is inside of her to come out into the open so that he could have another demigod part of S.H.I.E.L.D., because apparently having one isn't enough. Ava managed to escape, though. Tony told me you saw her."

Steve nodded. "I did run into her, by accident. We talked."

"That's all and well, but now S.H.I.E.L.D. is conducting and ultra-secret manhunt for her." Tony looked around, wearily watching the door. "We've actually got orders to go and find her. They reassigned Natasha and Clint. They're not supposed to look for Loki anymore, just Ava. I know that they're both exceedingly loyal agents, but I hope they're not really trying to find her. She could be found by them in an instant."

"But how could they expect us to just track her down?" Steve leaned forward, lowering his voice. "All of us know very well that she could beat us in a fight. She's exceedingly strong. There's no point in them doing this. If she doesn't want to come back, she won't. And she'd destroy the world to stay away from them at this point."

Tony and Bruce nodded in agreement. The two simultaneously looked at the door, seeing an Agent walk in. Steve greeted the man as he walked up to the table.

"Hello, gentlemen." The man said, showing no emotion. "What are you all doing here?"

"We were telling Steve about what happened. He was left completely out of the loop." Bruce said, putting his glasses back on.

"Well, it's getting rather late." The man's voice had an edge to it. "You should all probably be heading home."

"Fantastic idea." Tony said, standing up and producing a newspaper. "Here you go Steve, this is that article I mentioned the other day. I know you prefer the actual newspaper to the website."

"Thanks." Steve said, folding up the newspaper and standing up. "I've got a long cab ride home, Agent. If you would excuse me." Steve walked out the door, hailing a cab. He got in the car, giving the driver his address. As they drove down the street, Steve unfolded the newspaper, the thumbdirve falling into his lap.

~~Loki's Hideout~~

After Gaia had cleared the building of all human life, she wandered into one of the bathrooms. She studied her appearance. The human body she had gained, 'Ava', was quite different than her last. This one had no ancient markings on the skin, displaying your rank or abilities. Her eyes had been a bright red, but her whole family had that trait. These eyes were in between, though. Partly a deep blue(the color she assumed belonged to original owner) and part red, forming and odd tie-dye effect. The skin was pale white, instead of the deep brown she was used to. 'Ugh, humans are so disgusting.' she thought, frowning. She reached up and touched her hair. It was a pale blonde, cropped short and messy. She disliked it, perhaps more than the skin. When she had lived on her planet and in her own body, she had long and beautiful lime green hair, often decorated with flowers from a recently bloomed tree. The features of the body's face seemed similar to that of her original ones, but not an exact copy. "At least they got something right..." she muttered.

There was a breezy sound behind her, and she turned to find a rather short man standing there. He had a long staff, at the top of which was a caduceus. He skin was white and his hair was short and golden. On his feet were sandals, each of which had a pair of wings on it. She smiled widely.

"Hermes, my child!" She said, holding out her arms to him. He stayed a respectful distance away.

"Gaia, hello. I was very glad to hear of your awakening. I've come with a message from Zeus. He says that he is also glad for your awakening, but fears that the body of the child is much too weak for you to be able to control her with your full abilities."

"That is ridiculous. You know that I could not be awakened until she was strong enough!"

"Yes, but she is still but a child. You have come too early."

"Perhaps it is you who has come to early. I have barely started reclaiming the earth-"

Hermes was emotionless while speaking. "You will not do that. Those years ago, we were all angry that the humans were destroying our home. In the time since, we have realized that it is not our planet, but theirs. We are but visitors. And besides, they have realized what is happening. They see the destruction they're causing and are trying to mend it. They love this planet, it is their home. You need not try and take back a planet that was never ours."

"I can hear the cry of the animals! Of the plants! Of the very earth itself!"

"Yes, but you only hear what you want to hear. Listen closer. Hear the sounds of happiness from animals and plants, being grown with care and love. The greed of one person may hurt the planet, but the love of many can overcome it. It already is working. You must come home. We will decide what to do with you there."

"Never!" Gaia spat. "How dare you take such liberties! I am the elder of you, you cannot tell me what to do!"

Hermes put an arm across his chest and bowed. "With all due respect, Gaia, I can. Your elder status is demeaned by you inhabitation of a human body."

"You were the ones who put me here!" She screeched.

"Exactly. Now why don't you please come back to Olympus with me, we will give you a real body."

"OUT!" She screamed, a fireball forming in her hand. "LEAVE!" As she threw the flames at Hermes, he simply vanished with nothing but the sound of wind.

~~Steve's Apartment~~

When Steve got home, he immediately turned on his laptop. After it started up and loaded to his desktop screen, he looked at the thumbdrive. He turned it over, unable to understand how it was supposed to work. He prodded the one button it, and a metal piece came out of one end. He jumped slightly, inspecting the newfound bit of technology. He looked at the end. 'This must be how it connects to the computer...' he thought, suddenly remembering a similar looking slot on the side of the laptop. He turned it on its side, looking from the slot to the end of the thumbdrive. He plugged in the thumbdrive, setting the laptop back properly, staring at the screen. A notification popped up, proclaiming 'New Hardware Found!'. It then asked how he wanted to open it. He had no idea what the options meant, so he just clicked the 'OK' button. The contents popped up in a folder. He read through the titles, selecting the 'Read Me' one. The file was .txt, so it opened in Notepad. It said:

"Steve-I hope that you're the one reading this, not Fury or anyone else. This drive contains all my work pertaining to Ava. I removed it from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system completely, with the help of Tony. If they get a hold of this, I have no idea what they'll do to her. They're torture her and put her through horrible tests. They might even try to kill her to see if she remains alive due to the immortal being inside of her. You have to protect this with your life. Don't ever let it get out of your sight. It's in Ava's best interest. -Bruce"

Steve closed the file, then pulled the thumbdrive from the computer. He glanced around his small apartment, trying to find something to help him hide it. He remembered something from earlier that day and reached in his pocket, pulling out a plain silver chain necklace that Ava had forgotten when she was getting dressed. He unhooked the clasp and slipped the end of the chain through the small ring at the end of the thumbdrive. He then rehooked the clasp behind his neck, dropping the thumbdrive beneath his shirt.

His phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Tony. Hope you're not busy, we need to suit up."

"Is it Loki?"

"No, it's...it's Ava. I don't know, so don't ask. Just hurry up and get your ass downtown."

~~Downtown~~

When Captain America arrived in downtown Brooklyn, it was in ruins. There were fires everywhere, buildings being suffocated by the tendrils of giant plants. People were running in fear, and Iron Man was already there, along with Bruce, Thor, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. They were all suited up. When Iron Man noticed Steve, he ran over. "Steve-"

Steve interrupted him. "I won't let my feelings get in the way. Ava is endangering innocent civilians. I can't let that happen." He walked past Tony to the group, getting right to business. "Where did you last see her?"

"She went south." Natasha said as Tony joined the group. "She was using wind to propel herself. She didn't spend too much time here, she just torched some buildings and grew some plants, nothing all that big. As soon as we showed up, she moved on."

"Before we follow her, we have to have a game plan." Steve looked at each of them. "Any ideas?"

"Um," Bruce said quietly, looking behind Steve and pointing. "That might be one..."

Everyone turned around to look at what Bruce was talking about. Walking down the street toward them were Loki and Hela. Loki was in his full garb, and Hela was in an evening gown. They both looked pretty beat up.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Iron Man said, stepping forward.

"We are trying to do the same thing."

"Yes, we know you want to kill Ava. We're not going to kill her, and we won't let you either." Captain said, stepping forward.

"Ava? Oh, right. That was her name. She is no longer Ava." Loki said without emotion.

"What do you mean she's no longer Ava?" Bruce asked.

"The Immortal has been awoken. Ava is gone now." Hela said, her voice quiet.

"So you're saying that there is some sort of demigod inside of Ava's body?" Bruce asked, stepping forward.

Loki sighed. "Yes. She is awake and has her full powers. That's why the city looks like this. She is part of a race from a different planet. Theirs was destroyed a long time ago, and they came upon Earth. They decided to live here, and because of their powers they were revered as gods. I believe you humans know them as 'Olympians'. The one inside her is one who arrived without a body, Gaia. She took to the earth as it was the only being that could hold her immense power. As Gaia was the earth, she has power over every part of it. Having Gaia slumbering within her is what caused Ava to be able to control the elements."

Everyone looked stunned. Steve was the first one who spoke up. "So what does that mean for Ava? Is she sharing her body with Gaia?"

Loki laughed. Hela looked down, ashamed. She spoke before Loki could. "I'm so sorry. When the Immortal awakens, the shell is destroyed." She rubbed her eye, refusing to look at anyone else. "She has gone to Hel now."

"How dare you say that?!" Captain said, stepping forward.

Thor put his hand on Captain's shoulder. "Steve, it was not an insult. In Asgard, Hel is where all souls go. As I have told you, Hela is the guard of those souls. Hel is her home."

Captain shrugged Thor's hand off and walked away from the group. They continued talking to Loki and Hela, discussing what this would mean. Captain dropped his shield on the ground and sat on the curb, putting his head in his hands. 'She's gone...' he thought, a painful throbbing in his chest. 'I'll never see her again...my Ava...'

His thought were interrupted by the sound of soft footsteps approaching and fabric rubbing together as someone sat down next to him. "Steve, is it?" A soft female voice inquiried. He looked up. It was Hela. She was looking directly at him, her eyes soft.

"Yeah." He said, looking back down at the ground.

"I know that you cannot be consoled; you have lost the woman you love. I see many souls who have left their loved ones behind, but I have never those left behind. It is a painful thing, I now know."

"Well, it isn't the first time I've felt this." Captain said, sighing.

"I know." Hela said sadly. "Your name is still in the Book of Hel, yet everyone else you knew before you were frozen has gone. It must be a very sad existence."

"Sometimes." Captain replied. They sat in silence for a few minutes. You could hear the sounds of the group talking, mixed in with the sounds dying fires and in the distance, rain. Suddenly, Hela began sobbing. Captain stared, not knowing what to do. "Uh, Hela, why are you crying...?"

"B-because!" She said, gasping between sobs. "Bec-cause Ava was s-so brave! Sh-she wasn't even a-afraid of d-dying! She knew th-that it was for th-the good of your p-planet, and sh-she just accepted i-it! I've never seen someone r-really die before, just their s-souls! Asgardians fight w-with everything we h-have to stay alive! But y-you, humans, you accept d-death when it comes. I always thought you were s-so weak, but you're so much st-stronger than we are!" Hela put her head in her hands and continued crying.

"You watched when Ava was taken over?" Captain said, taken aback. "Why didn't you do anything?!"

"Because we thought we could destroy Gaia..." Hela sniffled. "But...we couldn't. Ava was so much stronger than we thought. The awakening of Gaia was inevitable, and we thought to destroy her when she was weakened." Captain just stared at her. She looked back at him, her eyes rimmed with redness. "Please, you must believe. We didn't force her. We told her everything about how she came to be what she was, and how the Olympians needed Gaia to have a human form to destroy your whole race and take back the planet. She knew that she had to awaken Gaia and let us destroy her so that she could save everyone else."

Captain sat in silence, stunned. "She chose to die...to save everyone else?" When Hela nodded, his face turned serious. "I can't let her die in vain. We have to stop Gaia." Captain got up and walked back to the group, Hela behind him. "So, what have you guys decided?"

"We're going to work with Loki and Hela to capture Gaia." Bruce said. "She just has so much power that we need as much help as we can get."

Captain nodded. "So, we do we have some plan of attack?" We everyone looked at each other, Captain sighed. "How about we split up? We have two groups. Group one would be Thor, Clint, and myself and group two would be Hela, Loki, and Bruce. These two groups would approach from opposite sides on the ground and spread out, while Tony and Natasha approach from the sky, Natasha in a jet. We would effectively be boxing her in." Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Loki.

"Why must I be paired with that insufferable green beast?" Loki said, giving a distateful look to Bruce.

"Because," Captain, smirking. "he's the only one who can keep you in line." 


	12. The Final Battle

Gaia touched down on the edge of the building. She surveyed the city, her red-blue eyes shining seemingly brighter with her rage. It only calmed her slightly as she gazed upon the wreckage she had caused. The sky was lit to a dusky orange, blotting out the few stars normally visible from the city. She looked up at the sky, sadness filling her heart. _'Oh, Ouranos…I wish we were home and together again. None of this would have happened, and I wouldn't be in this disgusting form…'_ Her anger rose once again at the thought of her new body.

She stepped off the edge, her foot immediately making contact with a sturdy vine, then on to another one and another one, so and so forth as she moved smoothly down the street six floors above the ground. She sent fire and vines at various buildings, but nothing could soothe the rage burning inside her.

Midstride, she faltered. Something had happened in her mind, but only for a second. Like a passing thought, only less formed; something pushing at the edge of her subconscious. Her head was beginning to ache. She realized, finally, what it was. Much like she had pushed her thoughts to Ava's, Ava was pushing into Gaia's. _'Impossible!'_ She thought. _'If it is indeed, then that means…'_ She froze in terror, teetering precariously close to losing her balance.

'_Ava…is alive.'_

~~Downtown Brooklyn~~

Toy was rocketing through the sky, tracing the path of destruction Gaia had left in her wake. When he caught sight of her, he slowed and stopped.

"JARVIS, call Steve ad Bruce."

There were a few electronic clicks and the phones began ringing. Steve picked up first, about 30 seconds before Bruce.

"You found her?" He asked just as Bruce answered his phone.

"Where is she?" Bruce asked, his voice full of tension.

"I'll send you the location via text. Anyway, we need to plan how we approach. She's in the middle of an intersection, so blocking her exits seems to be fairly easy. Natasha and I can handle the air, I'm worried about you guys on the ground. You're much more vulnerable to her attacks, especially the vines she seems to be favoring."

"We'll just have to be careful. Thor and I will be fine, and Hawk's going to get a vantage point above her anyway." Steve answered quickly.

"Good point. Bruce, I know that you can handle it, but what about Loki and Hela?"

Bruce chuckled. "Loki is the god of deception and trickery and Hela can kill mortal things with her touch. I think we'll be fine."

"Good, good. Now, I think that Steve should approach her on the left with Thor. Steve, you need to talk to her to distract her while everyone moves into place. There's a fairly tall building there for Hawk, and Thor can use the cars for cover. Bruce, you'll come from right with Loki and Hela and spread out behind her, effectively boxing her in. Before we go, just remember: we're not trying to kill her." Tony's voice became serious. "There is a chance, though small, that Ava is still alive. We have to hope she is, otherwise what are we fighting for? Stay alert, and don't get sloppy. Watch out for each other."

There was silence on the line as the three men, each in love the girl in his own way, thought of the unthinkable: that she was not there; that she had, indeed, been lost to the horrid monster that now controlled her body.

Steve felt a rush of adrenaline. "We'll get her." Was all he said before hanging up the phone.

~~Gaia~~

As she reached a rather large intersection, Gaia decided to stop. She didn't know what compelled her to do so but she simply couldn't resist. Perhaps it was the humans running in fear, their screams echoing against the large, now empty, buildings.

'_Pathetic,'_ she thought to herself, _'running when they should be standing and fighting! Cowards!'_

She stifled her distaste for a moment, pausing to listen. She heard the faint sound of something mechanical in the distance. She smelled the air, detecting the burning jet fuel. She sneered.

"I know you're there!" She called out. "SHOW YOURSELVES!" She looked around, seeing and hearing no one. Her anger rose, as did he temperature. The flames were barely starting up when Steve stepped out from behind a car, in his full Captain America suit. She smirked, the flames disappearing.

"So, you're the only brave enough to face me, I see?" You could almost taste the condescension in her voice.

"No, that's not it at all." Steve said, his voice shaky. "I'm here to just…ask you to surrender.. We don't want to fight you, and we definitely don't want to hurt you. You may not be aware of this, but that body you're in, it used to belong to someone I care dearly for. And there's a…a possibility that she's still there, somewhere in your-uh, her-brain. And this woman, the woman whose body you've taken, she has a lot of friends. And, well, these friends are pretty powerful, and we want our friend back."

She began laughing. "So foolish." She clenched her fingers into fists. The asphalt around Steve's feet began to crack. Wines shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around his feet. He struggled as they snaked up his body, binding him tighter and tighter. His face became red and his breathing shallow.

Just as suddenly as the vines appeared, they slithered back into the ground. Gaia was on her knees, clutching her head with both hands. There was a screaming in her head, drowning out her own thought, though the night around her was silent. She pushed against the temples, trying to silence it. There was a deep thumping, like someone banging at an old wooden door. It grew louder and louder until its volume matched that of the scream.

Then, silence.

A simple thought has broken through her subconscious mind. A single word. 'Stop'.

~~Loki and Hela~~

Down in the square, Loki and Hela hid uncomfortably, crouching behind one of the many abandoned cars on the street.

"This is ridiculous." Loki said, glaring back at Bruce. "Demeaning, humiliating! I've already served my punishment in Asgard, yet they see fit to force me to my knees!"

"In all fairness, father, you did escape your prison. You still many years before you're officially free." Hela said, stealing a look back at Bruce. She quickly turned forward when their eyes met. She looked over to Loki, who seemed horrified.

"Hela, he is _human_! How dare you make those…those love-eyes at him?!"

She looked down. "A human who can defeat the mighty Loki…" She muttered to herself.

But before the argument could advance any further, there came screaming from the center of the square. There were a few moments of paralyzed silence. Father and daughter looked at each other in confusion. The next second, they were blown back by an explosion.

As they staggered to their feet, they saw the destruction. Cars were on fire and chunks of asphalt were here and there across the roads and sidewalks. In the middle of the square stood Gaia, engulfed by flames, and Steve, crouched behind his shield. Loki and Hela stood in awe of the power.

Gaia turned towards them, her eyes burning red now. Hela turned to Loki, panicking.

"Father, do we stick to the plan? "

"Of course not! We never planned to from the beginning! We must destroy Gaia!" Loki hissed, his image flickering suddenly. He appeared behind Gaia, raising his scepter, preparing to strike her. Quick as a flash of lighting, it was ripped out of his hands and puller underground. He stood there in shock, his arms raised in the air. Before Gaia could give him the same treatment, Bruce rushed forward, his shape quickly morphing. He dove for her, but before could get there she shot into the air on a gust of wind.

Up on the roof, Clint readied his bow, taking aim. He had Gaia in his crosshairs. She was just setting down on the roof of a car after narrowly avoiding the Hulk. He let the arrow fly, praying that it would stay on course.

The arrow struck her in the shoulder. Gaia fell to her knees, a screech escaping her lips. She touched the shaft of the arrow with her right hand where it entered her body. Already there was blood streaking down her chest. She gripped the arrow, grimacing terribly. She tugged at it but instantly screamed again as pain shot through her whole body.

She glanced around, seeing Thor walk into view with Mjolnir in hand. Her thoughts raced as she calculated her options. She had only seconds before he would attack and there she stood, with a giant stick in her chest.

She brought her left hand up, taking a deep breath. She grasped the arrow with both hands, her left an inch up from her right. She snapped the arrow shaft off, leaving a two inch long segment protruding from the wound. She threw down the end of the arrow, turning to face Thor.

"Gaia, I will you ask you but once. You must surrender or we will defeat." Thor's voice was loud and authoritative.

Gaia sneered. "Funny, but I don't believe I heard a question." She flicked her wrist and a circle of fire burst to life around her. As it spread further outward, Thor was forced to back up. But before she could celebrate her genius, Gaia's attention was drawn upward.

Tony hovered above her. The laser blaster of his left palm was fired up and pointed right in her direction. "Gaia," He announced, "it'd be best if you gave up now. We can help you, you know. If you want a body, I can engineer you one. You don't need to do this."

"And why would I trust you human scum?" She spat back.

"Because we want our friend back, and the only way that will happen is to kick you out first."

"Please. You'll force me out of this body and put me back in the earth! Besides, there is no point to your begging. Your friend is gone; only I remain!" She cackled, looking around her. Everyone had gathered, preparing to fight.

"I don't believe you." Steve said, his free right arm wrapped around his aching abdomen. "She has to be in there! She wouldn't just give up and let you win like that!" His left hand tightened on his shield, but his face portrayed none of his anger.

"Oh, of course _you_ would think that." Gaia sneered, the rage building inside her. "I have her memories, you know. Your first kiss, holding hands, your private evening together in the woods…Oh yes, I've seen it all. Oh, she loved you…" She laughed as Steve fought back the angry tears pooling in his eyes. "But that's all in the past. She's dead now, so why not just kill me like I know you're all aching to do?" She looked around, her smile widening. "Oh yes, that's right, you have to 'save' her. Perhaps Dr. Banner can help. Dr. Banner," she turned to the Hulk now, "I don't know if you can hear me through all that rage, but I have plenty of memories about you as well. Actually, more about you than anyone else! She really cared for you. You were always so kind to her in such an unkind place. And perhaps she loved you as more than a father figure?" The Hulk roared and Gaia grinned wider than ever with satisfaction. "I think perhaps you love her a little too much!"

The Hulk howled as he leaped toward her, his huge arms outstretched. He was thrown back, though, by a column of water. When he landed, the ground beneath him shook and sent Thor stumbling backwards.

"Natasha, now!" Tony yelled, spinning out of the way as a jet flew in.

Natasha was in the cockpit, headset on. She had heard everything Gaia had said and was as riled up as the rest of the team. The targeting system was locked on Gaia, who was rising on a cushion of air. Natasha held her thumb over the red button, which would fire a lead net at Gaia. Just as she was about to press it, the alarm system blared. She looked at the navigation screen, which now was displaying a large red warning label reading 'Plane Unstable: Evacuate'. Natasha gasped and reached down and pulled the eject lever, clearing the top of the plane just as it spiraled out of control in a miniature tornado and crashed into a building.

As she was floating down via the parachute, Clint was taking aim again as Steve tried to get close to Gaia. He expertly used his shield to block the fire balls she sent at him, effectively distracting her from Clint. This time, the arrow was equipped with tranquilizer strong enough to knock out a horse. Just as he let it go, Gaia dived to the side. The arrow flew past where she was and struck Loki in the leg as he was attempting to use some magic.

Loki yelped, falling to one knee. Hela was at his side instantly, assessing the wound.

"Father, you'll be fine; only a stray arrow. Just-" She was cut off by Loki completely collapsing in her arms. She became frantic, looking around at everyone who all were looking at Gaia. She pulled her father into her arms, cradling him. She dragged him behind a car, shielding them from the fighting, as she tried to wake him up.

Thor, who was waiting for his hammer to return after throwing it at Gaia and missing, became livid. He held up Mjolnir, drawing dark clouds above him. Just as the lightning struck it, Gaia doused him with water, electrocuting him. He was hit by the full force of the supercharged bolt and crumpled to the ground, his hammer landing next to him.

The Hulk charged Gaia, howling with rage. With every step he took, vines shot up and wrapped around his ankles. He tried to pull his legs free, but only succeeded in pulling the vines tighter. Before he could reach her, his feet were hopelessly entangled. He fell to the ground, struggling as more vines quickly wrapped around his body, making him completely immobile.

Tony was in the sky, watching everything go down. _'At least I don't have a weakness,'_ he thought, descending.

"Gaia, give up. You'll never beat me! I can and will always win against you. Technology is better than nature." He called out, carefully watching her movements.

She turned to face him, her expression full of rage. "That is why I have done this! Because you humans do not care about nature! You have destroyed for your…your technology! You wish to wipe out all the beauty in this wretched place for your own gain!"

"Gaia, you have to be kidding me." Tony responded. "Yeah, we've messed up in the past, but now we're trying to fix it! My company uses only clean energy now!" Tony was inching closer and closer to Gaia as he talked.

"FOOL!" She screamed, fire surging up around her. She threw her arm out, sending a wave of fire toward Tony. He quickly dodged it, sending back a blast from his laser.

"Mr. Stark," JARVIS spoke up. "Battery power is low."

"Oh, shut up." Tony muttered, dodging another fire blast from Gaia.

"Sir, it's dangerously low. Your suit will be powering down soon." JARVIS said.

"You may be a computer, but I don't like your attitude."

"I cannot have an attitude, sir."

Before Tony could respond, he got hit in the chest by Gaia. He felt the heat spread across the metal, searing his skin. The suit's cooling mechanism instantly activated, giving him only small relief. It lasted only seconds as the suit's power flickered and powered down and Tony fell to the ground.

Gaia smirked, looking around. "Was that it?" She yelled. "Was that all your pathetic species has to offer?!" She laughed as the Hulk struggled against the vines holding him down. As she surveyed the area, movement caught her eye.

Steve, suit ripped and stained with soot, was walking towards Gaia. He had been fighting off vines, unaware of what happened to everyone.

"So," she hissed, "you're the only one left. Oh, could it ever be anyone else?" A cruel smile crept across her face.

Steve's face portrayed nothing of the turmoil he felt inside. "I will destroy you." His voice was strong. "Not just you. Your body. Then there will be nowhere else to go, no one else for you to hurt." As he spoke, his eyes burned with anger. "I thought that maybe Ava was in there somewhere. But the way you've hurt everyone she loves, everyone she cares about, I know she's gone."

Gaia stood taller and smirked. "I tried to tell you. She's gone, Steve. Never coming back." As she said this, there was a pounding in her head, as if someone was trying to kick down a door.

Steve continued approaching her, limping slightly. "I'm going to rip you apart for what you did to her."

Gaia stood resolute, mentally fighting everything her body was screaming at her. She willed for vines to rise up. As they did, she felt a searing pain in her chest. Instead of stopping, she just became angry.

Steve struggled against the vines, but never took his eyes off her. "Are you going to kill me, Gaia?!" He yelled, his anger rising. The air was charged between them and no one could do anything but watch. "Are you going to crush me?!" He screamed, his voice breaking. Tear streamed down his face as he glared at her. "That's what's different between us! I don't care if I die. I'm not afraid! I've lost my family, my friends, the woman I loved. Then, when I finally found a new girl, one I really care about, you take her away from me. If you're going to kill me, just do it already!"

With these words, Gaia felt satisfaction. This human _wanted_ death; needed it. She would be glad to end his life. The only problem was, she couldn't do it. She wanted to, but the human, who was miraculously still in existence, wouldn't let her.

"JUST DO IT!" Steve screamed, more tears falling.

Gaia turned away from him, beginning to feel emotions that weren't hers. There was fear and sadness; loss, abandonment. But, above all else, there was love. The love that the human felt was a mystery to Gaia. She felt her eyes begin to sting as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She reached up to touch it, unbelieving. Then she looked at Steve, who was hanging his head, obviously waiting for a death that wouldn't come.

Instead of finishing him, she ordered the vines to recede. Steve stood in shock, staring at Gaia.

"What, going to kill me another way?" He asked, his voice soft.

"No…" She said, her voice even softer. "I can't…I can't kill you."

Steve stared at her, speechless. After a few moments, he gathered his wits. "What…what do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I feel what Ava has felt. I know how she thought…all her emotions…" As she spoke, guilt burned in Gaia's heart.

Steve approached her hesitantly. He put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be all okay, if you just give her back…"

Gaia shook her head, more tears falling. "I can't! I…I don't know how."

Steve had to hold back expressing the pain those four words brought him. "You have to know…"

Gaia shook her head. "But I don't want to go!"

The fear in her voice startled Steve. She was like a frightened child. And to Hela, who was still with Loki, it reminded her of Ava. More specifically, the words that Ava wouldn't let herself say at the end.

Hela stood up and rushed toward Gaia and Steve. "Wait, wait!" She yelled.

Steve looked to her. She seemed desperate. "What is it?" He asked, his voice a touch hopeless.

"Steve Rogers, I know Ava is in there! When I was with her, at the end, I knew that she was scared. But she never once said so! What Gaia just said…that's how Ava felt. She's lying to us, Ava is pushing her way back into her mind!"

Steve turned to Gaia. "Gaia, please." He said, his voice a forced calm. "You stole her from us…just please, _please_ give her back."

Gaia wouldn't look at Steve. "I'm sorry. I'm so terribly sorry…" She whispered. The pounding in her head began growing louder and more forceful, crescendoing until she couldn't stand it anymore.

Gaia collapsed and Steve rushed forward, holding her tightly and cradling her head. "Please, Ava…" He whispered. "Please be in there…" He brushed her hair back, gently touching her cheek. "Please…" A tear rolled down his nose, landing on her eyebrow. The muscles around her eye twitched, the she slowly blinked awake.

Her lips moved, attempting to form a single word. "S…St…Steve …" She whispered, her voice so soft he had to lean in close.

"I'm here." He said, his voice thick as he held her tighter.

"I'm so sorry…" She said, looking into his eyes. He saw that they were no longer purple but their origin blue again. "I'm sorry I chose to die…I thought I could save you and everyone else. I swear, that the only reason why."

He smiled, shaking his head. "I don't care." He said, his voice still thick. :It doesn't matter now. You're back with me again, with all of us." His eyes overflowed with tears as he held her fragile form tightly against himself.

Ava felt the wetness of his cheeks as he buried his face against her neck. She could barely feel the tears forming in her eyes as she desperately clung to him.

"I was so scared…" She said, her voice uneven. "I knew what she was doing, and I couldn't stop it. She was so angry, she wanted to just…destroy everyone. I watched her do all those horrible things to all those good people, but when she got to you, and all that anger and hate came out, I couldn't help but interfere."

Steve sobbed against her shoulder, holding her like he wouldn't ever let go. She wrapped her arms around him and held him just as tightly.

"Steve Rogers, do not hold her so tightly. She won't willingly leave you again." Hela said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Steve loosened his grip slightly, giving Ava space to breathe. Hela looked from Ava to Steve, smiling sadly. "I wish I could have helped more, I do. You have shown me so much. I know how people die, why they die. But I never understood the sadness. You two have shown me why people live."

Ava had to bite back a sob at this. "You helped us enough. You helped me come back. That's more than anyone can ask for."

Hela looked down, her eyes shiny with tears she would not let fall. Alas, when she looked up, there was a trail of a tear on her cheek. She touched it, staring in awe at her fingers. She looked from Steve to Ava, suddenly beaming. "Thank you again. You have helped me feel emotions I thought I could never feel again.

Ava pushed away from Steve and stood up, limping over to Hela. She threw her arms around Hela's neck, hugging her tightly. Hela wrapped her arms around Ava's waist, squeezing gently. Ava pulled away, smiling brightly. "Be safe. Don't forget what you learned here, from us."

Hela smiled. "Not for a million years." She kissed Ava's forehead. "The heaves shall weep when your name is shown in the Book of the Dead."

Ava smiled sadly. "Then I suppose it'll be a rainy day."

Hela nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek. She and turned and walked to Loki, who was kneeling by Thor's side.

Thor looked to Ava, beaming. "I knew you would come back, Ava Blanchette. There will be many stories told in Asgard of your bravery and strength"

Ava smiled back. "You weren't too bad yourself."

Hela waved to her. She then put a hand on Thor's shoulder and took Loki's arm. There was a bright light and they disappeared.

Ava turned to Steve. "I think it's time for use to get to the hospital."

He chuckled, holding out his hand. Ava took it and intertwined their fingers, a slight smile playing at her lips. She looked to Bruce, who had changed back from the Hulk and was putting his clothes on. Tony was struggling to stand up in his heavy suit. Natasha was just arriving from where the parachute had landed her. Clint was walking out of the building he had been perched on. They all smiled at Ava, even though Ava couldn't see Tony's smile. She felt warmed by everyone else's happiness at her return.

"So," She said, smiling. "who wants pizza?"


End file.
